Return to the Chocolate Factory: the Tale of Charlotte
by VioletRose13
Summary: Five years have passed since Willy Wonka first opened the gates to his chocolate factory. But what happens when he opens them a second time? It looks as though history will repeat itself. However, this is the story of an orphaned girl named Charlotte.
1. Prologue

This is the story of an ordinary young girl named Charlotte. She wasn't faster, stronger, or smarter than other children, but she was certainly kinder, more imaginative, and more optimistic than most people. Her family wasn't wealthy, powerful, or well-connected; in fact, she didn't even have a family. Well… at least not one that _she_ could remember. Charlotte was soon to be the happiest and luckiest girl in the entire world; she just didn't know it yet.


	2. Meeting Charlotte

It all began at the orphanage where Charlotte grew up; it was a large stone and brick building that sat on the edge of a great town. As she lived there, she usually had to do all of the chores and other hard work around the place, but the other orphans who lived there never did anything to help her; all they did was play and laze around all day and every day. In exchange for doing these chores, Charlotte would be given food, a bed, and a roof over her head.

Mind you, Charlotte was often worked to the bone day after day and she was hardly given much to eat; for breakfast, she would have a small bowl of wheat cereal with only a tiny bit of milk, a simple cheese sandwich and an apple for lunch, and a bowl of plain pasta and a slice of bread with butter for supper. She would have these three meals almost every day, sometimes she would have something different or even a second helping, but not very often. She, of course, didn't starve, but most days and nights Charlotte was left with a dreadful empty feeling in her belly. Most of the time she was able to bear through it and not complain with any trouble, but other times she just couldn't stand the awful feeling; she always wanted something more to her tastes.

For the longest time, Charlotte had secretly wished for a life that was _so_ much better than the one she was currently living; she hated doing chores and having to endure the never-ending verbal, and sometimes physical, abuse from the head of the orphanage or the other orphans, but she never said a word about it. She just figured people would just ignore her and keep on treating her like this or yell at her for complaining.

One cool late winter night while Charlotte was washing the dishes, the woman in charge, Ms. Ethel, came into the orphanage with a few bags filled with lots of different things which included new toys, games, and even books for the kids… but never anything for Charlotte.

"Hey, kids." She said.

The other orphans stopped what they were doing and smiled as they greeted her back. Ms. Ethel turned to Charlotte and said,

"Here you go, Charlotte. I found these earlier today in the convenient store dumpster. You can have them if you want them."

Ms. Ethel took a small handful of something out of one of her shopping bags and laid some messed-up toothpaste caps out on the nearby table. Charlotte picked up the caps and inspected them, then she excitedly smiled.

"Oh, finally!" She exclaimed, standing up and running towards the door leading to the basement.

"Where are _you_ going?" Ms. Ethel said firmly.

"I'll be right back, Ms. Ethel. I promise this will only take a minute."

Charlotte ran down the basement stairs where her bedroom was and took a model of the Wonka Chocolate Factory out from a closed door on the other side of the room. It was made out of things used for making various crafts; she added the cap to a small pipe cleaner figure wearing some male doll clothes standing near the model.

"Perfect!" She proudly said before closing the door and heading back upstairs.

"What is it that you do with those old caps I give you? Why do you like them so much?" Ms. Ethel asked.

"I don't know. I just think they look interesting." Charlotte replied.

"Whatever." A boy named Jamie rudely scoffed.

"Hey, did you guys know that I met _Willy Wonka_ once?" Another boy named Tobias bragged.

"Tobias, you are such a liar! You did no such thing!" Jamie shouted in an annoyed tone. "You know Wonka doesn't come out that often anymore."

"You know… my mother used to know Mr. Willy Wonka himself." Charlotte shyly commented.

"She was?!" The other orphans asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. But, of course, _I_ wasn't even born yet."

"Hold up. If you weren't _born_ yet, how do _you_ know that your mom knew Wonka?" A girl named Zoe asked.

"One word: stories."

Charlotte had always told stories of Willy Wonka and his escapades; she had always admired Mr. Wonka, his work, and especially his chocolate candies, her absolute favorite food ever since she was born. However, there was one small problem; she was never allowed any chocolate of any kind because of Ms. Ethel's strict number one rule: no sugary food allowed… which was practically torture.

So if she wanted a little taste of something sweet (which was almost all the time), Charlotte would attempt to sneak out of the orphanage with the very little money she could find, go down to the nearest store and pick out one small treat and when she snuck back in, she would hide her sweet treasures so no one would take it from her and she would try her best to savor it so it would last… but recently, she got caught trying to go into town and Ms. Ethel immediately chained the windows shut so she couldn't get away. So now, poor Charlotte had no money left and there was no time or way for her to sneak out again.

Tonight, Charlotte told the story of how Wonka's factory came to be. For as long as she could remember, she knew almost everything there was to know about Willy Wonka, but the other orphans had no idea how she knew or how she got her information; they didn't question it, though. All they really wanted was to hear a good story. Ms. Ethel suddenly interrupted Charlotte's recent story with:

"Did you kids know Willy Wonka got _married_?"

Everyone suddenly turned their attention to Ms. Ethel and away from Charlotte just as she was in the middle of a story involving Mr. Wonka and a prince from India.

"He did?!" Everyone exclaimed; Charlotte merely said nothing in response.

"When?" Jamie asked.

"A long time ago." Ms. Ethel continued. "They were a very happy couple, they even had a baby. But Wonka's wife sadly died in a horrid accident many years ago and his child disappeared at a young age. Pretty sad story."

"That's terrible!" Charlotte commented.

"Yeah. Well, enough stories for tonight. Now it's time for bed, everyone. And Charlotte? Did you finish your chores?" Ms. Ethel asked.

"Yes." Charlotte answered.

"And your homework?"

"I worked on it during school."

"Good. Go to bed."

"Yes, ma'am."

Without missing a beat, Charlotte put all of the cleaning supplies away, ran across the room, and went back down the stairs into the basement. Down there, she slept on an old, thin mattress with an equally thin blanket made of unraveling flannel shirts sewn together to keep warm and a dusty old throw pillow to rest her head on. She kept pictures she drew and took of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and old Wonka candy wrappers were taped to the brick wall near her 'bed'. Charlotte sat down on the mattress, took off her shoes and socks, and rested her head down on the pillow before covering her body with the blanket. She sighed as she stared up at the wooden-beam ceiling above her.

"Goodnight, Ms. Ethel." The other orphans called as they went to bed on the second floor.

"Goodnight, kids. See you all in the morning." Ms. Ethel called back kindly.

"Goodnight?" Charlotte called nervously.

"Go to sleep." Ms. Ethel called coldly.

"Yes, ma'am." Charlotte called back in a nervous whisper.

She sighed to herself as she heard the door slam shut. She turned around in her bed, her back facing the stairs. Charlotte had always wanted to go inside Willy Wonka amazing factory and see what it was like, but she had doubts of actually getting in.

"It's impossible." She muttered.

Soon, Charlotte saw a falling star soar across the sky out her window. She quickly sat up, closed her eyes, and made a wish to herself.

"I wish I could go to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory." She whispered.

She opened her eyes, laid down back on the mattress, and began to sing to herself.

" _Who can take a sunrise_

 _Sprinkle it with dew_

 _Cover it in chocolate_

 _And a miracle or two_

 _The candy man_

 _Willy Wonka can_

 _The candy man can_ …"

Then she took out a golden locket around her neck and opened it to reveal a picture of her mother and herself as a baby inside; she had this locket for as long as she could remember and she could hardly remember a time when she didn't have it on.

"Goodnight, mom and dad." She whispered.

She gently kissed the picture, closed the locket, and tucked it back into her shirt before cuddling under the blanket and slowly falling asleep. But that very night, the impossible had already been set in motion for Charlotte's lifelong wish was about to come true.


	3. The Announcement

Early the next morning, everyone was surprised to see posters stapled and/or taped to phone poles and various walls all over town. People started crowding around some of them; the posters had the Wonka insignia printed on the top. Charlotte was on her way back from school when she spotted one of the posters on the side of the school building; she approached it and read it aloud to herself. It read:

" _Dear people of the world. I, Willy Wonka, have decided to allow five children, just five and no more, to visit my factory once again. These lucky five will be shown around the entire factory, personally by me, and they will be allowed to see all the magic and secrets of my factory. In addition, one of these children shall receive a special prize beyond anything you could ever imagine. And the only way to get admission is to find a golden ticket under the wrapper an ordinary bar of Wonka chocolate. I've hidden only five and I cannot wait to find out who the lucky finders will be. Happy hunting and good luck to you all._ "

Charlotte grinned. "This is my chance."

She tore the poster down and ran back to the orphanage with it quick as lightning. When she showed the ad to everybody in the orphanage, they were all as ecstatic as can be. But, Ms. Ethel seemed far less than pleased with Charlotte's finding.

"Can you guys really imagine opening a bar of chocolate and finding a golden ticket?" A girl named Darla asked.

" _I_ can!" Charlotte exclaimed, excitedly gazing at the poster in her hands. "I mean finding a golden ticket _and_ winning a tour of the most amazing factory in the world is a pretty HUGE deal!"

"What are you talking about, Charlotte? _You_ can't win this contest." Jamie asked.

"Who says I can't, Jamie? I have as much a chance as anyone else." She said hopefully.

"Don't be ridiculous." Zoe replied rudely. "The kids who are gonna find those tickets are the ones who can afford to buy candy bars every single day. _You_ hardly have any money as it is. You don't have a chance."

"But I _do_ have a chance, I know it. I can feel it in my gut." Charlotte assured herself.

"Well, you can forget about that little competition, Charlotte. You know the rules around here. No candy, especially _chocolate_." Ms. Ethel reminded her.

"I know, Ms. Ethel. Don't remind me." Charlotte grumbled.

Charlotte clearly remembered the dreaded no sugary-food rule, but she knew deep in her heart that she _could_ win a tour of her hero's factory. She went to her "room" and taped the ad by her bed, looking at it proudly and excitedly.


	4. Charlotte's Luck

A few long months had passed and four of the five golden tickets had already been found; the first was found in Australia, the second was in France, the third in the Mexico, and the fourth found in Scotland… and the odds of Charlotte finding one now were pretty slim.

One day, Charlotte stood outside the large gates of Willy Wonka's glorious factory and stared at it longingly. The sweet, succulent scent of melted chocolate from the enormous stone chimneys filled her nose; oh, how she wanted to go inside and see the wonders that lied within. She sighed as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her purple sweatshirt; she realized that her lifelong dream of exploring the Wonka factory was fast slipping away.

'Four tickets down, one to go. But what are the odds of _me_ finding the last one now?' She thought as she walked down the sidewalk away from the gates. 'Those guys are right. I _don't_ have a chance. I'm _never_ gonna meet Willy Wonka.'

As she walked down the sidewalk, she didn't see where she was going and she accidentally bumped into someone and she fell to the ground.

"Oh, man! I'm so sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" She apologized. "I didn't see you there."

"No, no. It's okay. It was an accident." The stranger said.

Charlotte looked up and she saw that it was a boy who roughly looked to be the same age as her. There was a short awkward silence before the boy took Charlotte's hand and helped her up.

"Would you like to buy a chocolate bar, miss?" He asked, holding out a Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight chocolate bar to Charlotte.

Charlotte longingly looked at the bar in the boy's hand; she wanted it, she _really_ wanted it. But she realized something.

"Oh. I'd love to, but I don't have any money. I'm sorry." Charlotte answered.

"Tell you what; instead of you purchasing it, why don't I just _give_ the chocolate to you right here right now?" The boy offered.

"What? Give? As in… for _free_?" Charlotte's eyes widened.

She was shocked by this boy's sudden act of generosity; nobody she knew was _ever_ generous to her.

"Of course." The boy said.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." She denied, trying to stay courteous. "I could never ask you to do that."

"No really, I insist. Take it. You look like you need it… And I don't think anyone _deserves_ this more. Believe me." The boy said, still holding out the chocolate.

" _Deserves_ it? Well, I don't know about that but… okay, since you _are_ offering. Thank you." She said politely, taking the candy bar.

"You're welcome." The boy said before walking down the road down an alleyway.

Charlotte wondered where that boy came from, but she quickly ignored it and went back to her new chocolate bar. She smiled and licked her lips as she held the bar in her hands, she couldn't wait to take a nice big bite. After she carefully tore off a tiny bit of the paper, however, she saw something that didn't look right. It looked like it just… flashed _gold_. Her heart stood still and her breath paused; she tore more of the wrapping away and she saw… Willy Wonka's final golden ticket! Her eyes grew wide as she pulled the ticket out of its wrapping and held it in her hands. The other people that were walking by stopped what they were doing and stared at Charlotte in awe and shock.

"I can't believe it. It's a golden ticket. _She_ found Willy Wonka's last golden ticket! It's right there in her hands! Can you believe it?!" A man from the nearby newsstand cried out as he ran over to Charlotte. "My dear, destiny is _very_ kind to you indeed."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Charlotte said in a daze, not seeming to take notice of the crowds gathering around her.

"Whoa! How did SHE manage to find the last ticket?" An eight year old boy shouted.

"Impossible!" A woman wearing thick rimmed glasses cried out.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" A five year old girl exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder.

"What's going on over there? Is it something to do with Mr. Wonka and the golden tickets?" A girl who looked to be college age asked.

"Yeah! Some girl found the last one!" Another girl said.

"No way!" A twelve year old boy shouted.

"Hey, hey! I can't see!" A teenage boy called out, trying to get a better view of the frantic scene.

Charlotte seemed unfazed to notice all of the buzz, chatter, and excitement that was going on around her; her focus was on the beautiful, gleaming golden ticket in her hands and that alone… that is until she felt a hand resting on her shoulder.

"Listen, kid. I'll buy it from you right now." A woman in a fur coat said as she approached Charlotte. "I'll give you $50 for it and a few new dresses _and_ matching shoes."

"Are you kidding me?! I'd give her _$500_ for that ticket! You wanna sell me your ticket for $500, young lady?" A man wearing a clean suit and necktie offered her.

"No way! What about _$5,000_ dollars in exchange for that ticket, miss? Can you take a check?" Another woman asked as more strangers started to swarm around the poor girl.

"Uh, um… I, uh…" Charlotte stuttered; she as at a loss for words. That was then when she realized how many people had surrounded her and she tried to hide herself, but to no avail.

"Stop, that's enough! Leave her alone! All of you!" The newspaper seller protested as he walked over to the group of people.

The pack of random strangers reluctantly did what they were told and the newsman looked at Charlotte and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen to me. Don't let anyone else have it; this is _your_ lucky charm. Take it straight home and don't stop until you get there. You understand, dear?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Charlotte cried.

With her newly found ticket clutched tightly in her hand, Charlotte excitedly ran down the street and straight back to the orphanage as fast as she could… perhaps even faster. The moment she ran inside, she slammed the door and skidded to a stop, the heels of her boots making a few dark scuff marks on the hardwood floor, and she jumped up and down as she excitedly screamed,

"I found it! I found it! I found it! I found it!"

Ms. Ethel and the other orphans were startled and very confused; they looked at Charlotte who was nearly out of breath.

"Charlotte? What is it?" Ms. Ethel said. "I've never seen you so jumpy before."

"What's going on?" A girl named Tina asked.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Darla asked.

" _This_! This is what I'm talking about! I just found Willy Wonka's LAST GOLDEN TICKET! It's mine, it's mine, it's _MINE_! How amazing is that?!" Charlotte squealed, holding the ticket tightly in her hands and panting heavily.

There was nothing but silence for a good minute or two; the other orphans stared at each other, then looked back at Charlotte in disbelief.

"You're a liar." Tobias said with a rude scoff.

"WHAT?! I am not! It's really real!" Charlotte protested.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you prove it?" Jamie smugly asked.

"Fine, I will. I'll read it aloud right now and show you."

Charlotte cleared her throat and began to read what was written on her ticket. It read:

" _Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this golden ticket, from Mr. Willy Wonka. I shake you warmly by the hand. For now, I invite you to come to my factory and be my guest for one whole day. I, Willy Wonka, will conduct you around the factory myself, showing you everything there is to see. Afterwards, when it is time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large trucks, each one filled with all the chocolate you could ever eat. And remember, one of you lucky five kids will receive an extra special prize, beyond your wildest imagination. Now, here are your instructions. On the 31_ _st_ _of May, you must come to the factory gates at 10 a.m. sharp. Don't be late. You're allowed to bring one member of your family to look after you if you wish. And one more thing, be sure to have your golden ticket with you at the factory gates at all times, otherwise you cannot enter. Until then, Willy Wonka._ "

"See? What'd I tell ya?" Charlotte said with a smug and proud smirk.

The room suddenly grew quiet for a good few minutes. Charlotte was smiling a big, toothy grin while standing in place; she was paralyzed with joy at this point. Everyone else was either in shock or disbelief at what their teenage servant had just discovered.

"The 31st of May?" Ms. Ethel repeated. "But isn't that _tomorrow_?"

"I-It is. And tomorrow is… my SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY!" Charlotte cried, the exciting realization of the situation hitting her like a bullet to the brain; she started to pace the floor. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I have so much to do and so little time! I have to get ready for tomorrow ASAP! I have to take a shower, wash my hands and face, brush and wash my hair, pick out an outfit, and—"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait just a minute, young lady!" Ms. Ethel interrupted, waving her hands over her head. "Charlotte, what makes you think you are actually _going_ to this absurd factory tomorrow?"

"The ticket I just found?" Charlotte asked as she stopped pacing; she held her ticket closer to her.

"No. I mean you are _not going_ , ticket or no ticket." Ms. Ethel said sternly.

"What?! Why not?!" Charlotte shrieked, a look of shock stamped on her face.

"Because _I_ said so."

"Explain, please?"

"Going someplace as big as that gigantic factory is… is not safe. So many large machines and unpredictable scenarios; you could very well get hurt or even _killed_ if you're not careful! Who knows what might happen behind those walls?"

"But, Ms. Ethel, that's what I want to find out! Why can't I—"

"No buts, missy! I've already made up my mind! You are not going to that factory tomorrow and that is final!"

Charlotte's eyes softened as her lower lip quivered ever so slightly at Ms. Ethel's shrill command. She deeply inhaled through her nose before turning on her heels and going down to the basement without saying another word. Ms. Ethel and the others were left staring at the basement door in surprise.

"Wow. That was… _so_ much easier than I thought." Ms. Ethel said smugly.

Charlotte was distraught at first, but it wasn't like she didn't see this coming. She knew Ms. Ethel would forbid her to go on the tour but by now, she already had a plan: she was going to sneak out of the orphanage the next morning before anyone woke up. She smiled slyly to herself before lying down on her mattress of a bed.

Very early the next morning at the crack of dawn, Charlotte woke up and snuck into the shower on the first floor to get herself cleaned up. She washed and brushed her hair, scrubbed her face and hands, and even brushed and flossed her teeth (flossing was something she hardly ever did to begin with); she knew she wanted to look her absolute best for Mr. Willy Wonka. After grabbing a glass of water and an orange or two from the kitchen for a quick breakfast, Charlotte went back into the basement, grabbed her ticket out from under her pillow, used a pair of bolt cutters to cut the chain sealing the little window above her bed, and carefully climbed out of the room without making so much as a peep.

The moment she made it outside, Charlotte smiled; she almost couldn't believe her plan really worked. She checked the watch that was on her wrist and saw that it would soon be time for the gates to open. She ran away from the orphanage and down the street towards her destination as fast as her legs could carry her… just as Ms. Ethel begrudgingly woke up.

"Charlotte? What's going on down here?" Ms. Ethel's voice called before letting out a tired yawn. "I heard the water running. Was that you? What are you—?"

When Ms. Ethel made her way down to the basement, she saw that the chains on the window were gone… and so was Charlotte. It was then that Ms. Ethel realized something.

"She went off to that damn factory after I specifically told her _not_ to?" She snarled as she scrunched up her face. "That wretched, spoiled, lying, bratty, little ingrate! Oooooh, I'll get her _good_ for this…"


	5. The Big Day

It was the big day; the sun was shining brightly and everyone in town was lined up near the factory gates. It was almost exactly ten o'clock and the guests were all standing on their toes in anticipation. The four kids had one of their parents standing beside them, but Charlotte was the only one standing by herself right in the middle. The other four children looked rather refined and they either wore modern-looking or fancy-looking clothes, but Charlotte only wore her best skirt and top with her favorite purple sweatshirt and her lucky black boots. The other kids glared at Charlotte with looks of contempt, suspicion, and distrust, but she didn't notice the dark stares they all gave her. Her main focus was on the giant iron gates of the factory of her dreams; she couldn't wait to finally go into her role model's sanctum after all of these years of hoping and dreaming.

And soon, it was time. The church clock was striking the time, ten o'clock. The gates slowly opened with a loud creaking sound and the line of nine people walked through without hesitation. As they slowly made their way to the main doors of the factory, Charlotte glanced behind her to see the factory gates closing with a loud clang. Then a male voice said over the intercom,

" _Dear visitors, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to my humble factory. And who am I? Well…_ "

And when the doors opened, two cherry red velvet curtains were pulled away and there were little animatronic puppets, probably ten or twenty of them at most, all singing and dancing a rather silly theme song. It went something like this:

" _Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka_

 _The amazing chocolatier_

 _Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka_

 _Everybody give a cheer!_

 _Hooray!_

 _He's modest, clever and so smart,_

 _He barely can restrain it_

 _With so much generosity_

 _There is no way to contain it!_

 _To contain it!_

 _To contain, to contain, to contain!_

 _Hooray!_

 _Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka_

 _He's the one that you're about to meet_

 _Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka_

 _He's the genius who just can't be beat_

 _The magician and the chocolate whiz_

 _The best darn guy who ever lived_

 _Willy Wonka, here he is!_ "

At the song's end, there was a big, extravagant and flashy finale with fireworks and sparks flying everywhere as an empty throne framed in gold was raised up from the floor. But the sparks and fireworks started most of the creepy puppets and odd sets on fire, melting some of the puppets faces and bodies in the process. Everyone just stared with wide, confused, shocked eyes.

'Is it wrong if I kinda find that funny?' Charlotte thought.

Suddenly, everybody heard someone laughing and clapping their hands at the end of the line. It seemed to be coming from the right. They turned their heads to the right and they saw a tall slim man with brown hair and fair skin while wearing a black top hat, a red velvet coat, purple leather gloves on his hands, and odd looking sunglasses and holding a cane in one hand.

"Wasn't that just magnificent?" The man laughed.

Everyone let out a cry in surprise when they saw him; he continued to speak with a laugh still in his voice.

"I was kinda worried it was a little dodgy in the middle part, but then, that finale?! Wow! Just as amazing as always!"

He made his way up the small set of stairs and stopped right in front of the group, showing off a large set of opal white teeth in a big excited smile. There is a long, awkward silence; no one moved or said a word for a good few seconds. The stranger then broke the silence by clearing his throat and saying,

"Hello dear visitors and welcome to my factory; I'm so very pleased to have you all here on this beautiful spring day. My name is Willy Wonka."

Charlotte let out a silent gasp in her head and her eyes widened; it was him. It was him… it was _really_ him! She was actually looking at her lifelong idol who was now standing only a few feet away from her. She felt like she might explode from anticipation and excitement, but she kept her cool; she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of so many people.

"Then shouldn't you be up there?" A little girl asked, pointing a finger at the throne.

"Well, I couldn't watch the show very well from up there, now, could I, little girl? Plus, that would be too dangerous. Major fire hazard." He answered. "Now let's get a move on, kids. I have so much to show you."

Soon, they all headed into the factory with Mr. Willy Wonka leading the way. Charlotte was the last one to enter before the large metal doors slowly shut behind her. Once everyone was inside, they took off their coats while Mr. Wonka took off his overcoat and glasses.

"Hey, Mr. Wonka. It sure is warm in here." One of the adults said as he unzipped his sweatshirt.

"Yes, why is it so toasty?" A woman in a blue sweater asked as she fanned herself with her hand.

"Yeah, does this crummy place have air conditioning or not?" A boy in a graphic t-shirt asked.

"Crumby?" Mr. Wonka asked. "First of all young man, this is the lobby not the crumbery. Why on Earth would I keep the crumbery so close to the entrance when crumbs are obviously the _last_ things added to any treat? Makes no sense; plus, crumbs are nothing but a total pain in the neck to clean up. Secondly, I _have_ to keep it warm in here because my workers are accustomed to an extremely hot climate and I must keep them happy, mustn't I?"

"Who are the workers?" Charlotte asked.

Mr. Wonka turned around to look at her; she held her breath when she met his gaze.

"All in good time, my dear. Oh! And I'm terribly sorry that my young partner couldn't join us today; there's a family emergency he has to deal with, so you guys will just be with me. But for now, follow me." He said before he started leading the group down the hall.

"Wait! Don't you want to know our names before we start?" A rather fat looking boy asked.

"He has a point." His mother said, putting a protective hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Oh, yes! Of course! I almost forgot! How rude of me." Mr. Wonka said, clearing his throat and looking back at the group. "I've pretty much already introduced myself, now it's _your_ turn, kids."

"Well, I'm Ruby Bernard." A little girl with braided strawberry blonde pigtails said while chewing on a piece of bubblegum.

"I'm Priscilla Surf." Another little girl with short red hair said politely.

"I'm Eugene Glob." The fat boy said.

"I'm Jeff Tellie." The other little boy said.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all of you… And what about _you_?" Mr. Wonka asked, turning his attention to the last ticket winner.

Everyone turned their heads to look at Charlotte, who was standing all by herself. She looked at Mr. Wonka shyly with her hands stuffed into her pockets.

"What's _your_ name?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"…I'm Charlotte." She whispered.

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?"

"I'm Charlotte."

"I still couldn't get that."

"I said… my name is _Charlotte_." She finally said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Suddenly, when he heard the adolescent say her name, Mr. Wonka began to stare off into space in a rather unsettling and creepy manner. 'Charlotte', it sounded so familiar; where had he heard that name before?

Charlotte snapped her fingers and said, "Mr. Wonka? Sir?"

He suddenly snapped back to reality and he saw everybody staring at him with confused expressions. He was clearly nervous.

"Sorry about that, folks. I, uh… I just sometimes stare off into space for no purpose at all." Mr. Wonka said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously; he looked back at the girl. "Hey, _you're_ the girl who found the last ticket just yesterday, right?"

"Uh, yes." Charlotte said, nodding her head sheepishly.

"Thought so. I heard all about you on the news last night. Just in time, too. How lucky is that, huh?"

"I guess so."

"You know, if you don't mind me saying so, I've always thought Charlotte was such a pretty name."

"Really? Why, thank you."

Mr. Wonka looked around and noticed the rest of the adults standing beside the four other kids.

"Oh! And the rest of you must be their p-p-pruhhh… Uh, I mean, their puhrulll." He stammered before clearing his throat. "Sorry, I'm just not used to saying that word much. What I mean to say is that the rest of you must be their… p-p-p-p-p- _parents_."

The other adults all nodded their heads meaning yes. But then, Mr. Wonka noticed something; there were only four of them. He looked back at Charlotte and walked over to her. As he approached her, Charlotte could feel her heart about to explode out of her chest.

"You. Charlotte, is it? Didn't _you_ come here with anybody?" He asked.

"Um, no…" She answered, softly shaking her head.

"How come? Where's your mother? Or your father?" He asked again.

"Uh, they're… dead." She whispered.

"Come again?"

"They're dead."

"Dear, can you please speak up? It's really difficult to understand your whispering."

" _Dead_! My parents are _dead_!"

"Oh! I… I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's okay, I shouldn't have yelled."

Suddenly, Mr. Wonka's eyes lit up; he looked back at Charlotte and gave her a sly, yet friendly smile.

"You know, since _you're_ the only one who came without a chaperone, you could, oh I dunno, maybe you could… walk beside _me_ during the tour." He offered.

"She can?!" The other kids exclaimed.

"I can?!" Charlotte cried at the same time.

"Yeah, of course." He said, nodding his head and smiling. "What do you say?"

"I… I… I mean, sure. Yeah. Yes, I'd love to."

"Perfect. Now that we have _that_ out of the way, let us begin the tour. Come on, people. We're burning daylight as we speak."

And with Mr. Wonka at the lead, the tour began. As she walked beside the group down the somewhat shrinking hallway, Charlotte felt that the guide was almost trying to get closer to her. She didn't want to say anything to sound rude, so she kept on walking.

"Is it just me or does Mr. Wonka seem a little… _off_ to you?" Mr. Tellie asked Mrs. Surf.

" _You_ noticed it, too? I was almost hoping it was in my head." Mrs. Surf said; Mr. Bernard and Mrs. Glob all nodded at each other in response.

" _Your_ name is Ruby." Priscilla said.

"And _yours_ is Priscilla." Ruby said.

"You and I should get along just fine."

"You know we will."

"Would you like some chocolate?" Eugene whispered to Jeff.

"No way, I ain't catching _your_ germs. Who knows where your hands have been?" Jeff muttered.

" _I_ knows."

"Ugh, whatever."

'Wow, I can't believe I'm _really_ here. I _need_ to make the most of this day.' Charlotte said to herself, letting her imagination run wild with the countless possibilities of what she might see.

Mr. Wonka was glancing over at Charlotte every once in a while as she walked right beside him, but thankfully she didn't seem to notice. Finally at the end of the hallway, the group stopped at an unbelievably small door. It looked like it was designed to confuse everyone who walked down the hall, except the tour guide himself.

"Over here, this is a _very_ important room. It _is_ a chocolate factory, after all." Mr. Wonka said.

"Then why is the door so tiny?" Jeff asked.

"It's to keep the great big chocolaty flavor inside, of course." Mr. Wonka then bent down and unlocked the tiny door with a ring of keys.

And almost like magic, the wall in front of the group opened wide and it revealed a glorious sight. It was an entire valley with so many bright colors and odd shapes that it almost looked like something out of a children's storybook. And sitting right smack in the center was an enormous waterfall with a wide smooth brown river at the foot of it. Everyone gazed at the sight in awe, Mr. Wonka was looking at it with pride.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, feast your eyes on the Chocolate Room."


	6. The Chocolate Room (Eugene Glob)

Upon entering the now dubbed 'Chocolate Room', no one could believe their eyes; it seemed as though everyone was stepping into some kind of lucid dreamscape or a child's wonderland.

"Now do be careful, everybody. Don't lose your heads; don't get overexcited, either. Just remain very calm." Mr. Wonka said.

"It's so beautiful…" Charlotte said with wide eyes and a big smile.

"It is, isn't it? Thank you for noticing." Mr. Wonka replied proudly.

Charlotte grinned sheepishly at his comment before the guide began to lead the group of nine around the vast, gorgeous area, showing them every bit in great detail.

"This place is the nerve center of my _entire_ operation." Mr. Wonka explained. "As you can see, every drop of this river is hot, melted chocolate of the finest quality; the _very_ finest quality."

He led them onto a bridge that stood right across from the waterfall. "This waterfall right over here is the most important thing in the entire room; it mixes the chocolate, churning it and making it perfectly light and frothy. By the way, no other factory in the world mixes its chocolate by waterfall like _I_ do and you all can take that to the bank."

Everyone made their way to the other side before Mr. Wonka clapped his hands and said,

"People. See those pipes up there?" He pointed his finger at a machine with a large pipe moving across the ceiling. "They suck up the chocolate and they carry it away to different rooms all over the factory; thousands of gallons an hour."

'Holy smokes.' Charlotte thought.

"Do you like my meadow? Try some of the grass. Please have a taste, please do. It's so delectable and so darn good-looking." Mr. Wonka offered, showing the group the field like he was the host of a cheesy game show. "And what about all of these colorful, beautiful flowers? Don't you wish you could just pick one and pop it into your mouth right this minute? Mmm-mm!"

"You can eat the plants?" Charlotte asked, raising her brow in intrigue.

"Of course you can. Everything in this room is eatable because everything in here is made of any candy or treat you can think of. Well, go on. Enjoy yourselves. Have a good time."

Without missing a beat, the group of four children and four adults all ran off in different directions to look around and possibly sample some of the scenery. Charlotte was left looking at Mr. Wonka; he was looking at her with a certain look that could only be identified as either creepy or bored. She politely smiled back at him and walked away to see what there was. However, Mr. Wonka kept his eyes on the lone teenager as she walked away and vanished from view.

'Is it just me or is there something oddly _familiar_ about that girl…?' He said to himself, scratching a finger under his chin and smirking.

The entire group was now scattered across the room, admiring the gorgeous scenery and even tasting some of it. Jeff was crushing and munching on some candy pumpkins, Ruby was licking the trunk of a big candy cane colored tree, Priscilla was taking small bites out of a cotton candy bush, Eugene was pretty much devouring everything in sight, and Charlotte was just entranced by everything around her. It looked so beautiful to her, almost _too_ good to eat. Then she had a funny feeling deep down in her gut; a tidal wave of déjà vu suddenly swept over her for a reason she couldn't understand.

'Is it just me or have I seen this place before?' She asked herself. 'Maybe in a dream?'

That was when Eugene bumped into her from behind, nearly knocking her to the ground.

"Whoa!" She cried out as she regained her balance. "Oh, sorry."

She turned around and saw that Eugene's mouth was now covered in marshmallow, red syrup, and even little bits of candy grass here and there. She almost cringed at the sight.

"You're in my way. Next time, keep your distance." Eugene rudely said before stomping off in another direction. "And eat something around here while you're at it! That's what it's all here for. You're too thin!"

"I'm too… _what_?" Charlotte asked herself out loud, putting a hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow.

'Is he always that rude or is it just his over-sized gut talking?' She thought before she heard Priscilla's voice from another corner of the room.

"Hey, everybody! Look at what I just found!" Priscilla shouted. "It's a little person. Over by the waterfall. See it?"

The group met up on another edge of the river to see what Priscilla was talking about. Everyone looked at what the little girl was pointing. She was right; it _was_ a small person, about two feet tall and it looked like it was drilling into the ground by the waterfall. There seemed to be more and more just like it. Everyone was clearly confused.

"Where did they come from?" Mr. Bernard asked.

"Who are they?" Charlotte asked with wide eyes.

" _What_ are they?" Mrs. Glob asked.

"Are they even real people?" Jeff asked rudely.

"Of course they're real people. They're Oompa-Loompas; my workers." Mr. Wonka answered.

"Oompa-Loompas?" Mrs. Surf asked. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"Imported, direct from Loompaland."

"What are you talking about? There's no such place." Mr. Tellie said.

"…Excuse me?"

"Mr. Wonka, I was a geography teacher in high school _and_ college and I'm just—"

"Well, then now you'll know all about it and know what a dreadful country it is."

Mr. Wonka explained in great detail on how he went to Loompaland some time ago to look for exotic new candy flavors, but he ended up finding the Oompa-Loompas instead. He told of how they used to eat revolting green caterpillars and how they longed for cocoa beans instead. So he invited the Oompa-Loompas to work for him at his factory in exchange for all of the cocoa beans they want.

"They're all such wonderful workers; the best I've probably ever had in my career. But I _do_ have to warn you that they're rather mischievous _and_ pretty crafty, always making jokes to play." Mr. Wonka said before letting out a small giggle. "…Sometimes, _I'm_ the one on the other end of said jokes, but I don't mind. It's all in good fun, you know?"

Just then, Charlotte felt something tap her leg. She looked down and saw one of the Oompa-Loompas looking up at her. She smiled before the tiny man offered her something; she took it and realized it was a tiny drawstring bag.

"Thank you." Charlotte said before the Oompa-Loompa nodded and headed back to work.

"What've you got there, miss?" Mr. Tellie asked.

"I don't know." Charlotte said before opening the bag and looking inside; she looked and saw that it was full of brightly colored jelly beans and gumdrops covered in sparkling sugar.

Mr. Wonka looked in Charlotte's direction and said, "Oh, it looks like a bag of some very special treats. If an Oompa-Loompa gives you something sweet to snack on, it usually means that they really like you… or it could just be a sign of welcome. Either one."

"Really? Cool. No offense, but I feel I should save these for later." Charlotte said before carefully putting the bag into her sweatshirt pocket; Mr. Wonka smiled and nodded at her.

"Eugene! What are you doing over there?!" Mrs. Glob shouted in distress.

Everyone suddenly turned their heads to see what Mrs. Glob was looking at and it was her son Eugene; he was trying to eat some of the chocolate in the river. Charlotte cringed in disgust; while he was trying to keep his cool, Mr. Wonka was now becoming increasingly upset as the fat boy continued to greedily scoop handful after handful of melted chocolate into his filthy mouth as fast as he could.

"Hey, little boy! Would you please not do that? My chocolate is easily contaminated and must remain _untouched_ by human hands!" Mr. Wonka gently yelled.

"Just when I thought he couldn't get any grosser." Jeff commented.

'How can you be so calm?' Charlotte thought.

Just when Charlotte thought this scene couldn't get any more repulsive, Eugene fell into the chocolate river head first with a splash; everyone gasped, except Mr. Wonka. He saw that coming from a mile away.

"Eugene! Oh no, my boy! My precious boy!" Mrs. Glob cried. "Please, someone save him; he can't swim! Help him! PLEASE! DO SOMETHING!"

"Help me! Someone, help! Fish me out!" Eugene cried as he desperately to keep his head above the chocolate of the river.

Mrs. Glob was clearly panicking about her son's safety, but soon Mr. Wonka saw one of the pipes from before come towards the river again and he made a small smirk. The pipe made its way to the river's center and it sunk halfway down where it began to suck up some of the chocolate, along with Eugene. And more than half way up the pipe, the boy suddenly got stuck because he was so fat. Charlotte grimaced; she had never seen a sight so hideous, strange, or disgusting before.

"Eugene! Do something, somebody! Anybody!" Mrs. Glob shouted.

"Look at him go!" Priscilla said.

"Wait! I think he's slowing down!" Charlotte cried.

"The pipe isn't big enough for him to fit through!" Jeff said.

"He's stuck?! Oh no, my little boy is stuck! What will we do?!" Mrs. Glob cried out.

"Shouldn't somebody _do_ something to help him?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think there's anything any of _us_ can do about it now, child." Mrs. Surf commented.

"She's right. The boy just blocked the whole pipe." Mr. Bernard said.

The rest of the group only stared up at the pipe in shock. Suddenly, Charlotte noticed something in the corner of her eye. She turned to her left see a group of Oompa-Loompas; it looked like they were about to do something else.

"Hey. Look at the Oompa-Loompas." She said, pointing a finger at them.

The rest of the group looked to where she was pointing and they saw it as well.

"What are they doing?" Ruby asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh! It looks like they're gonna treat us to a little song." Mr. Wonka answered, looking at where everyone was. "It _is_ quite a special occasion, of course. They haven't had a fresh audience in so long; five whole years to be more exact."

Suddenly, all of the Oompa-Loompas in the room began to line up on the edges of the chocolate river and they began to sing, Mr. Wonka shaking his head from side to side all the while. Charlotte just watched and smiled at the little workers.

" _Little Eugene, little Eugene_

 _So very bad and unclean_

 _Eugene Glob, so big and brain so numb_

 _So greedy, fowl, and oh so dumb_

 _"Come on!" we cried "The time is ripe_

 _To send him flying up the pipe!"_

 _But don't, dear children, be alarmed_

 _Lil' Eugene Glob will not be harmed_

 _Lil' Eugene Glob will not be harmed_

 _Although, of course, we must admit_

 _He will be altered quite a bit_

 _Slowly, wheels go round and round_

 _And cogs begin to grind and pound_

 _This greedy brute, this louse's ear_

 _Is loved by people everywhere_

 _For who could hate or bear a grudge_

 _Against a luscious bit of fudge?_ "

And with that, Eugene was suddenly shot up the pipe like a bullet in a gun and into the tank at the top. The Oompa-Loompas' song faded to an end and they went back to work as the pipe made its way further from the river and the group as Mr. Wonka clapped his hand in applause.

"Whoo! Fantastic job! Bravo! Well done!" He cheered. "What'd I tell you guys? Aren't they delightful? Aren't they charming little fellows? Probably the best workers I've _ever_ had!"

Charlotte smiled and clapped her hands too. She thought the Oompa-Loompas were the most fascinating and silliest creatures she had ever seen… as well as very kind and hospitable.

"Well, _I_ thought it was _awesome_." She commented.

"Thank you." Mr. Wonka said with a smile.

"You actually _enjoyed_ that?" Jeff asked Charlotte.

"Yeah… What? It's catchy." Charlotte replied, nodding her head and shrugging her shoulders.

"I have to admit that _did_ all seem pretty rehearsed to me." Mr. Tellie said.

"As if they knew it would happen ahead of time or something." Ruby added.

"You mean like psychics?" Priscilla asked.

"Exactly." The girl in red replied.

"So is Eugene gonna be made into marshmallows or what?" Jeff asked.

"What? Pfft! Poppycock. Impossible, unthinkable, inconceivable, absurd. That pipe doesn't go anywhere _near_ the marshmallow room. Honestly, you kids don't even listen to a darn word I say…" Mr. Wonka scoffed as he walked away from the group, but Mrs. Glob brutally grabbed his forearm to stop him from going anywhere else, a horrified expression on her face.

"Ow!" He cried, wincing at the woman's surprisingly strong and firm grip she had on his arm.

"Where is my son, Wonka?! Where does that pipe lead!? Where does it go?! Tell me where that pipe goes right this instant!" She demanded.

"Oh! Uh… that pipe happens to lead to the room where I make the most delicious kinds of special fudge for equally special occasions. And I think that batch is going to be made into my newest creation, Extra Milky Razzle-Berry Deluxe." Mr. Wonka answered nonchalantly, pulling his arm free from her grasp.

"So he will be made into that extra mild straw-cherry berry or whatever deluxe fudge?! They will be selling him by the pound all over the world?!" Mrs. Glob cried worriedly.

"Uh… No. I wouldn't allow it; the taste would be horrible. Can you imagine Eugene-flavored, Milky fudge-coated Glob? Ew. No one would buy it." Mr. Wonka answered bluntly; Charlotte smiled at his comment.

"Wait! Is Eugene going to be okay?" Priscilla asked.

"Yeah, what'll happen to him?" Ruby added.

"Oh don't you worry about that little butterball, girls. He'll be fine; once he's dried off, the Oompa-Loompas would roll him in nuts and send him on his way. Just give me a moment, 'kay? Thanks." Mr. Wonka replied before calling for an Oompa-Loompa.

When an Oompa-Loompa finally did come, everyone surrounded the tiny creature as he approached his master.

"I want you to take Mrs. Glob up to the Fudge Room and help her find her son." He instructed. "Maybe take a long stick or a pole and poke around in the mixing barrel of chocolate until you find a possibly screaming moving blob floating around in there. Okay?"

The Oompa-Loompa agreed to his master's orders and Mrs. Glob and the tiny creature were on their way out of the room as everyone watched.

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlotte asked as the tour guide directed his attention to her. "If you don't mind me asking, how could Eugene's name already be in the Oompa-Loompas' song?"

"Ever hear of improvisation? Oompa-Loompas are _masters_ at improvising. But it's also very easy; anyone can do it." Mr. Wonka answered. "Say something, anything. Gimme something to work with."

"Okay, uh… how about… rum?" Charlotte asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Drinking rum is really gross. Drinking rum I hate the most." Mr. Wonka rhymed. "See that? It's exactly the same _and_ a piece of cake."

"Can _I_ try?"

"Of course."

"Alright, um… Yee-haw! Finally, I can buck like a five-bit snake herder in an Appleloosa ranch house again!"

Everyone looked at Charlotte with wide, confused eyes. Mr. Wonka had a surprised smile on his face and he politely clapped.

"Nice one." He said; she blushed.

"What was that?" Jeff asked.

Mr. Wonka turned his head around to face Jeff and he said, "Um, you really shouldn't mumble when you talk because I can't understand what you're saying. Now then, on with the tour?"

The group nodded their heads and continued to walk with Mr. Wonka leading the way.


	7. Down the Chocolate River

Everyone stopped at the edge of the river and a large sugar pink boat being driven by many Oompa-Loompas slowly came into view and it stopped at the riverbank in front of the group. Charlotte stared at it in awe; it was probably the most beautiful boat she ever saw.

"That is gorgeous…" She said.

"Big deal, it ain't so hot." Jeff scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest smugly.

"Are you kidding? _I'm_ with the brunette on this one, this looks amazing." Ruby remarked.

"I agree, it's stunning." Priscilla added.

"Well, I hope it'll hold all of us." Jeff's father added.

"Don't worry, it will. All aboard the Wonkatania, everybody! Single file, now. Come on, no pushing. No shoving, either. We can't afford any more accidents in here, now can we?" Mr. Wonka declared as everyone climbed into the boat one at a time.

"Hey, Mr. Wonka. Is this entire boat made of candy, too?" Priscilla asked.

"Why yes. Yes it is, little girl. But I advise you _not_ to lick it; that goes for the rest of you too. I don't want my boat to get all sticky. Okay? Thank you." Mr. Wonka informed Priscilla before carefully making his way into the boat himself.

Mr. Wonka made his way over to the very back seat of the boat and he sat down right next to where Charlotte was sitting. Her eyes slightly brightened; her idol was sitting right next to her in what she thought was the greatest and the most gorgeous place in the world. She wanted to squeal with excitement, but she kept her cool so she wouldn't embarrass herself.

"Onward!" Mr. Wonka commanded.

The Oompa-Loompas started to row again and the Wonkatania slowly made its way down the luscious chocolate river with the group inside. Mr. Wonka then spooned some chocolate out of the river with a ladle that was as pink as the boat itself and he offered it to Charlotte.

"Here, Charlotte. Try some of this; it'll do you good. You're so skinny, you look almost starved." He said, passing the ladle into her hand.

Charlotte put the ladle to her lips, took a sip, and as the sweet, warm, creamy chocolate slid down her throat, she smiled.

"Mmmm! It's great." She took another sip and another before she gulped down the rest of the chocolate.

"It's been mixed by waterfall, you know." Mr. Wonka said warmly, taking the ladle back from her and setting it down.

"Well, it's delicious. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, my dear. I'm just glad you enjoyed it."

Charlotte smiled and let out a small giggle; she had never expected Mr. Wonka to be so nice to her. But suddenly, Mr. Wonka noticed something oddly distinctive about his seat neighbor. He dipped the tip of his index finger into the chocolate river, took a lock of Charlotte's hair with his other hand, and compared the chocolate and the hair. He realized that they were the exact same shade of brown.

"Hey, everyone! Look at this!" He exclaimed.

The three remaining children and their parents turned around to see what Mr. Wonka was so excited about. When they saw him holding a bit of his neighbor's hair, they were very confused.

"What are we looking at?" Priscilla asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me none of you can see it. Just look at the chocolate river, then back at the color of this strand of hair!" Mr. Wonka said excitedly.

Charlotte looked at Mr. Wonka with a very confused expression on her face; she wondered why he was showing off her hair to the other guests.

"It's… brown." Mrs. Surf said in an uneasy tone.

"Yes, it's _brown_ , but it's not just _any_ brown, mind you. This hair is the exact same _shade_ of brown as my chocolate river! Isn't that neat?!" Mr. Wonka asked as he smiled a toothy grin.

"What exactly does _that_ have to do with anything?" Ruby asked, both Jeff and Priscilla nodded and smirked in agreement.

There was a long awkward silence after the little girl's comment. Mr. Wonka let go of Charlotte's hair and he licked the chocolate off of his finger, his smile fading and his face turning bright red in embarrassment.

"Sorry." He whispered to Charlotte.

She smiled sympathetically and nodded her head meaning it was okay. Charlotte was never one to get easily angered, but she was certainly one to get easily confused. She then noticed something very peculiar; she looked at Mr. Wonka's hair and then her own. Their hair color looked _exactly_ alike, just like the chocolate in the river; how could that be?

'Probably just a weird coincidence, nothing more…' She thought, shrugging her shoulders casually.

Then she turned her head around to see something ahead of the boat.

"Hey, Mr. Wonka. Why are we headed for a tunnel?" Charlotte asked, shifting in her seat.

"Oh, yeah! Full speed ahead!" Mr. Wonka declared to the Oompa-Loompas in the front.

The boat slowly made its way into the tunnel and it was soon turning darker and darker as it went deeper and deeper.

"You are gonna _love_ this. This is my _favorite_ part of the whole ride." He whispered to Charlotte who smiled enthusiastically.

'I hope so.' She thought.

"Hey, how can they see where they're going?" Jeff asked, referring to the tiny drivers ahead of the group.

"They can't; there's no knowing where we're going… And _that's_ the fun of it." He said as the boat was now completely inside the tunnel.

He clapped his hands twice. "Switch on the lights!"

A row of lights came on inside the tunnel and the boat suddenly fell and rode down the river as fast as it could until it slowed down and it was passing by a row of doors along the river.

'That was awesome!' Charlotte thought.

"People? Keep an eye out in here; we're passing a few _very_ important rooms." Mr. Wonka said. "On your left, you'll see clotted cream, coffee cream, violet cream, hair cream—"

"What do you use the _hair_ cream for?" Mrs. Surf interrupted.

"To lock in moisture." Mr. Wonka said, modeling his own hair.

Charlotte soon heard a mix of mooing and whipping coming from her right. She turned and saw that a group of three or four Oompa-Loompas were whipping a cow that was wrapped in a harness and hanging above the floor. She smiled at the sight.

"Oh! _I_ get it! Whipped cream!" She laughed.

"Precisely! Nice job." Mr. Wonka chuckled as he looked at his adolescent neighbor.

"That makes no sense." Priscilla commented.

Mr. Wonka looked at Priscilla with a rather irritated look.

"For your information, little girl, whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all, unless it's been whipped with whips! Everybody knows _that_." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Charlotte held in more of her laughter as Priscilla turned back around with an annoyed expression on her face. The Wonkatania made its way down the river and past many more doors, Charlotte getting more and more excited all the while. To her, this was like a thrill ride at an amusement park… only with chocolate instead of water. She desperately tried not to scream or shout with excitement, but she accidentally let a quick excited 'Yahoo!' escape from her mouth; no one seemed to notice, however. The boat soon stopped in front of a door that was marked 'Inventing Room'.

"Stop the boat! I want to show you guys something _real_ neat… and lucky for us, it's right through _here_." Mr. Wonka excitedly said as the boat stopped in front of the door.


	8. The Inventing Room (Ruby Bernard)

Behind the door, there was an array of great many different things. The entire room looked like a witch's kitchen from the distant future; there were all kinds of machines and gadgets, normal and _ab_ normal, certainly nothing Charlotte or the rest of the children had ever seen before. And sitting on certain tables and desks were bottles, beakers, test tubes, and flasks of all size and shape with some of them holding strange colorful contents.

"This room is the most important one in the entire factory; all of my newest and most secret inventions are all cooking and simmering in here." Mr. Wonka declared. "Now, everyone feel free to look around and enjoy yourselves, but I want _no_ messing around in here and _please_ don't touch anything. I don't want anything to break, okay?"

And with that the rest of the children scattered across the room to observe some of the strange devices their tour guide possessed. While walking towards a large drill-like machine, Charlotte accidentally bumped into Ruby and her father.

"Seriously? Do you _always_ have to be in the way?" Ruby snapped. "I'm walking here!"

"Oh, sorry. Why don't _you_ go ahead of me?" Charlotte offered.

"I am watching you, sister! That prize at the end is _mine_!" The little girl hissed at Charlotte as she and her father walked off in some other direction.

"Okay…" Charlotte said as she backed away slowly.

"Hey, Mr. Wonka? What's this thing?" Jeff asked.

He was standing next to what appeared to be an enormous roll of wallpaper; the wall paper itself had various fruits printed onto it.

"Oh! I'm so glad you asked. Let me show you." Mr. Wonka said as he headed towards the roll. "This is Lickable Wallpaper; it's especially designed for little kids' bedrooms and nurseries. Lick an orange, it tastes like an orange; lick a pineapple, it tastes like a pineapple. And I even added a new feature a little while ago. The best part is that every time you lick it, the designs can change _color_ and _flavor_! Go on, try it."

Everyone reluctantly started licking the paper and they were very surprised; the fruits printed onto this wallpaper tasted just like the real thing.

"Whoa!" Ruby exclaimed. "This purple one tastes just like grape soda, my favorite!"

"What about this one?" Mr. Tellie said. "It tastes like peppermint tea, mmmmm!"

"Oh my, this blue one tastes like blueberry jam on toast!" Mrs. Surf said. "Oh, this is excellent!"

"How about this pink one?" Priscilla cried. "Tastes like strawberry cheesecake! Delicious!"

"And this yellow one over here? I can taste banana taffy!" Charlotte added. "This is amazing! I wish I could lick this all day…"

"I knew you folks would like it. But we can't stay here _all_ day, you know; there's still so much left I want you all to see… like over here!" Mr. Wonka exclaimed before making his way to a different table and picking up a piece of what looked old-timey butterscotch. "This is one of my newer and lesser-known creations; I like to call it Hypno-Butterscotch. You swallow one of these and you'll be able to hypnotize anyone into doing anything you want! Neat, huh?"

"You _do_ know hypnosis isn't real, right?" Jeff asked, rolling his eyes. "It's just a bunch of bologna performed by con artists and hobos."

"Well… I'll tell you one thing. The mixture for this isn't quite right yet, unfortunately. A couple of Oompa-Loompas tried some a few days ago and…"

Two Oompa-Loompas suddenly danced towards the group and looked up at Mr. Wonka while singing some random song no one knew the title of.

"…and now I can't snap them out of their trance." He said, trying to stifle his laughter. "Right now, they think they're a couple of… sassy female backup singers."

Charlotte almost laughed out loud at the sight of them, but she composed herself when Ruby and Priscilla turned their heads to look at her. Everyone else just stared in utter shock.

"How are you guys today?" Mr. Wonka asked. They responded with a thumbs-up, but they were still dancing. "Nice moves… See what I mean?"

"Have you tried blasting an air horn in their faces?" Jeff asked.

"Three times." Mr. Wonka answered.

"What about splashing them with freezing cold water?" Ruby asked.

" _Nine_ times."

"Saying a special code word?" Priscilla asked.

"I never gave them a code word… well at least not one I can think of right now."

"How about snapping your fingers and telling them to go back to normal?" Charlotte asked.

"Like _that's_ gonna work." Jeff mumbled.

"You know, I haven't tried that yet. Let's see if it works."

Mr. Wonka faced the Oompa-Loompas again and said, "Okay fellows, when I snap my fingers, you two will go back to the way you were… hopefully."

He snapped his gloved fingers and just like that, the Oompa-Loompas stopped dancing and singing and they went to work as if nothing happened. Everyone looked at Charlotte with wide eyes, as if they weren't expecting her to be right.

"How did you know that would work?" Jeff asked.

Charlotte just smirked and nervously shrugged her shoulders in response. Soon, the group walked over to a machine that seemed far larger than all the rest. Mr. Wonka stood by a control panel beside it with an enthusiastic expression on his face.

"Ooh! Watch this!" He said as he pulled a lever.

As soon as he did the machine whir and buzz, which only made Mr. Wonka look and act even more excited than he was before. The machine seemed to be going through some kind of process, before finally, anticlimactically, dispensing a simple stick of plain, white chewing gum. Ruby immediately took it out of the machine and looked at it curiously.

"You mean that's _it_? That's _all_ this thing does?" Priscilla asked, a look of confusion on her face.

"Do you even know what ' _it_ ' is?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"It's _gum_." Ruby concluded.

"Exactly, but it's not just _any_ gum." Mr. Wonka began. "It's a stick of the most amazing, fabulous, and sensational gum in the world. Know why? Know why?"

"Why?" Charlotte asked, sincerely intrigued.

"Because this piece of gum is a full three-course meal all by itself!" He answered before letting out an excited squeal.

"Why would anyone want _that_?" Mr. Bernard asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mr. Wonka asked. "It'll be the end of all kitchens and all cooking forever. Just one tiny strip of this and that's all you'll _ever_ need at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This specific piece of gum happens to be carrot salad, fried chicken, and strawberry ice cream, but you can have almost _anything_ you want."

"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.

"I mean that if you start to chew this, then that's _exactly_ you'd get on the menu." Mr. Wonka explained. "While you chew this gum, you can actually feel that food going down your throat and straight into your stomach. It's like an _actual_ meal, it fills you up. Isn't that great?"

" _I_ think it's gross." Jeff answered.

"You and me both." Priscilla whispered to Jeff with whom she did a fist-bump.

"To me… this sounds like the _ultimate_ gum! Let _me_ try it! I wanna see it work!" Ruby said, taking her old piece of gum out of her mouth.

"Um, I'd rather you didn't do that, little girl. There are still a couple things that need to—" Mr. Wonka started.

"I don't care about any weird side effects. I'm not afraid of anything, especially not gum. So, don't try to scare me outta this." Ruby interrupted before she put the piece of gum in her mouth and began chewing.

"No. Stop, don't. Come back…" Mr. Wonka muttered as he shook his head.

'Oh boy, here we go again…' He thought.

"How is it, honey?" Mr. Bernard asked.

"It's amazing!" Ruby exclaimed. "It's like a batch of _actual_ carrot salad; I can taste the carrots _and_ the lemon juice perfectly! Incredible!"

"Yeah! You really should spit it out. _Right now_." Mr. Wonka cautioned.

"Uh, Ruby? I _really_ think you should listen to—" Charlotte started before being interrupted.

"Wait! The flavor's changing! Fried chicken with French fries on the side! Tender meat, crunchy, crispy breading, perfectly seasoned fries, and… and there's even _dipping sauce_!? _Mayonnaise_ , my favorite! This is awesome!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

"Keep chewing, sweetie! I can't believe it! My little girl is gonna be the first person in the world to have a chewing gum meal!" Mr. Bernard said proudly.

"Actually, she wouldn't be the _first_." Mr. Wonka said nervously. "And right now, I'm just a little concerned about the—"

"Strawberry ice cream, I love strawberry!" Ruby finally said.

"Too late." Mr. Wonka sighed in defeat; he closed his eyes, shook his head, and frowned.

"What's happening to her face?" Jeff asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

Soon, everyone quickly saw what Jeff meant. They saw that Ruby's face began to change color, almost a shade of dark pink or bright red. Mr. Wonka only stared at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Uh oh." Charlotte whispered, looking just as worried as the guide himself.

"She's turning… orange?" Mrs. Surf asked.

"No, it's pink!" Priscilla added.

"No… vermillion?" Mr. Tellie commented.

"Your whole nose looks completely raw." Mr. Bernard said, worriedly looking at his daughter.

" _Raw_? What are you talking about?" Ruby said, touching her nose that was now completely red.

"Ruby, you're turning _ruby red_! What's happening to her?" Mr. Bernard asked Mr. Wonka.

"Well, I told you I didn't get it right yet because it _always_ goes a little funny when it gets to the dessert. It's usually the cake and pie flavors that _really_ do it. I'm terribly sorry." Mr. Wonka apologized before hiding behind the machine.

He looked at Charlotte, who was standing near him at the time; then he grabbed hold of her right wrist, pulled her behind the machine beside him, and quickly covered her eyes with his gloved hand. While the two were hiding, one frightened and the other confused, something horrific was happening to Ruby. The skin on the rest of her body turned the exact same color as her face and even her hair and clothes turned into a reddish color. Charlotte then heard something from behind the dashboard; a terrified comment from Mrs. Surf.

"She's swelling up!" She cried.

"Like a water balloon!" Mr. Tellie commented.

"Ugh, I don't feel so good…" Ruby moaned.

"Eugh, yuck!" Jeff added.

"Ew, gross!" Priscilla squealed simultaneously.

Charlotte was very confused by everyone's comments; she had to know what was going on out there. So she slowly poked their heads from behind the control panel and removed Mr. Wonka's fingers from her right eye only to see that Mrs. Surf was right. Ruby was now growing at an unbelievably fast rate and she was unnaturally getting fatter and fatter as she continued to grow larger. Charlotte and Mr. Wonka crawled back to their hiding place until everything went quiet for a good few seconds. Charlotte looked and saw that Ruby was now cherry red, as round as a huge fruit most people would find at the carnival, and now five or ten times her original size. Charlotte stared and grimaced in disgust; for some reason, she almost couldn't look away.

Suddenly, she heard Mr. Wonka's voice say, "I've tried it on, like, twenty or thirty Oompa-Loompas and each one ended up as a different kind of fruit. Mostly blueberries, but the _straw_ berries are a new one. It's just weird like that. Oh well, I'll get it right in the end… someday."

"But, you don't understand! I can't have a giant _strawberry_ for a daughter! How is she supposed to compete?!" Mr. Bernard said to Mr. Wonka in a shrill, angered voice.

'Compete? Seriously?! That's all you really care about?!' Charlotte thought as she stood up and made her way back to the group.

"You know, you _could_ put Ruby in a county fair… or even a _circus_." Jeff commented.

"Jeff!" Mr. Tellie scolded.

"Good one." Priscilla giggled, giving Jeff a high-five.

Without missing a beat, more Oompa-Loompas began to sing another song with Mr. Wonka goofily dancing along.

" _Listen close, and listen hard_

 _To the tale of Miss Ruby Bernard_

 _This dreadful girl she sees no wrong_

 _Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _She goes on chewing 'till, at last_

 _Her chewing muscles grow so vast_

 _And from her face her giant chin_

 _Sticks out just like a violin_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _For years and years she chews away_

 _Her jaws get stronger every day_

 _And with one great, tremendous chew_

 _They bite the poor girl's tongue in two_

 _And that is why we try so hard_

 _To save lil' Miss Ruby Bernard_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_

 _Chewing, chewing all day long_ "

The music soon faded to a stop and Ruby was now being rolled away by a group of Oompa-Loompas through the now open door. Embarrassed, Mr. Wonka stopped dancing and he told an Oompa-Loompa,

"I want you to roll Miss Bernard into the boat and take her along to the juicing room at once."

The little man obeyed and Mr. Wonka looked back at Mr. Bernard who asked him, "The juicing room? What are they gonna do to her there?"

"They're just gonna squeeze her, like a little pimple. That's all. We've got to squeeze all of that juice out of her immediately or…"

"Or what?! What'll happen to her?!"

"Um, in scientific terms… go 'boom'."

"I'm gonna _explode_?!" Ruby tried to scream.

"That is if we don't do something about it soon. Don't worry; we've had a _lot_ of practice with this sorta thing. It's a fairly simple operation, really." Mr. Wonka answered calmly. "But hey, look on the bright side. At least your daughter didn't get into the _exploding_ chewing gum."

"EXPLODING CHEWING GUM?!" Mr. Bernard screamed. "Is there anything that DOESN'T explode around here?!"

"Of course not… just a couple things." Mr. Wonka replied in an uneasy tone.

"Don't worry, Ruby honey! Daddy's coming!" Mr. Bernard cried as he ran towards his mutated daughter and out the door with the small band of Oompa-Loompas.

As soon as Ruby and her father were gone, another Oompa-Loompa showed up with something it his hand and he showed it to his master; it was known as an Everlasting Gobstopper, only this one was a bluish green color. Mr. Wonka took it as the Oompa-Loompa pointed his tiny finger at Charlotte. Mr. Wonka wondered what his worker was trying to tell him.

"Charlotte, can you come here for a moment please?" He asked.

"Uh… sure." Charlotte said as she walked towards Mr. Wonka.

The Oompa-Loompa indicated Mr. Wonka to compare the Gobstopper to Charlotte's eyes. Mr. Wonka did just that and he quickly noticed something else about the girl; he saw that Charlotte's eyes were the same color as the Gobstopper. Charlotte was feeling rather uneasy at why Mr. Wonka was looking her in the eyes like that, as well as the other guests.

"Why are you staring at her like that?" Priscilla asked.

"Everyone, did you notice that Charlotte's eyes are the same color as _this_ Gobstopper?" Mr. Wonka asked the others.

"How is that relevant to _anything_?" Jeff asked.

"If you don't believe me, see for yourselves."

Priscilla looked at the round candy, then Charlotte's eyes. She realized that he was right, but she didn't want to admit it so she said nothing. Jeff took the Gobstopper and looked Charlotte directly in the eyes. He blinked a few times before giving the candy back to the Oompa-Loompa and crossing his arms.

"Coincidence. Nothing more." He said, trying to sound smarter.

"Okay… let's get a move on before we lose anyone else." Mr. Wonka said as he led the group out of the Inventing Room.

Charlotte thought long and hard about what had just happened. How could her eyes be the same color as one of an Everlasting Gobstopper?

"Charlotte, are you coming?" Mr. Wonka called.

She looked and saw everyone else moving on without her, except Mr. Wonka who stopped to wait for her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Sorry!" She said before running back to the group still standing beside Mr. Wonka.


	9. Down the Hall

Mr. Wonka, along with the remaining guests, was walking down a hallway with clean white and velvet red walls.

"Now without the Wonkatania, we'll have to move _double-time_ just to keep on schedule. There's far too much to see and so little time to see it." Mr. Wonka said.

"Mr. Wonka? Why have you decided to let people in?" Charlotte asked.

"So they could see the factory, of course." He answered.

"But why _now_? And why only five, just like the last time?" She asked.

Jeff butted in with a question of his own before Mr. Wonka could answer Charlotte's question.

"What's the special prize at the end and who gets it?" The boy asked.

"The best kind of prize is a _sur_ -prise!" The candy tycoon joked which made Charlotte smile.

"Will Ruby _always_ be a strawberry or is it temporary?" Priscilla asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. That's kinda what happened the _last_ time somebody tried that gum, only it was _blueberry_ _pie_ instead of _strawberry ice cream_. But that's what people get from chewing that rotten stuff all day. It's so disgusting." Mr. Wonka said.

"If you hate gum so much, why do you even make it?" Jeff asked rudely.

"He has a point, you know." Priscilla added before she and Jeff shared a fist bump.

"You know something? You really shouldn't mumble like that because I can't really understand what you're telling me right now. Plus, it's kinda starting to get on my nerves." Mr. Wonka said to Jeff through gritted teeth as he tried to smile.

"Can you remember the first candy you ever ate?" Charlotte asked.

Mr. Wonka stopped in his tracks and looked at her with a rather blank stare.

"Actually… yeah, I _can_ remember." He answered. "But… I don't really like to talk about it… Enough about _me_. _I_ actually want to know about _you_."

"Really?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes. You seem like a real chocolate enthusiast. Can _you_ remember the first candy _you_ ever ate?" He asked.

Chloe paused for a moment when she heard that question.

"Uh… yes. I mean, no. I mean… I don't know." She stuttered, drifting off into space.

She was having a flashback of her own.

In her mind, Charlotte was one year old and she was playing with a little ragdoll. A woman with hazelnut hair and wearing a royal blue sweater came around and gently picked her up; it must've been her mother. Little Charlotte happily cooed and giggled at the familiar sight; the woman kissed her softly on the forehead as she held her close.

"Here you go, honey." The woman said. "Here's a little treat for you. Your daddy wanted you to try it; it's _extra_ special."

She took out a small spoonful of warm melted chocolate and she carefully fed it to Charlotte who swallowed it with great pleasure. She laughed with joy because she liked it so much and her mother laughed with her.

Soon, more flashbacks of Charlotte's life were flashing before her eyes. She had her first Halloween when she was five; she tasted some Wonka taffy for the first time and wrote down how good it was in a little notebook. Then she was nine; Charlotte had a Wonka jawbreaker, the sweet colorful shell practically melted in her mouth as she happily sucked on it. And then she was twelve; she had her favorite Wonka candy bar, the Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight.

"Charlotte!"

One word spoken by a familiar voice suddenly snapped Charlotte back to reality. She gasped and looked to her right to see Mr. Wonka giving her a rather concerned look.

"Charlotte, are you alright? You kinda stared off into space for a minute. Is something wrong?" He asked, putting a protective hand on her shoulder.

"Did I? Oh! Sorry, I'm fine. I guess I was just… having a couple flashbacks." Charlotte answered, blinking a few times and shaking her head.

"I see." Mrs. Surf said, pulling her daughter closer to her.

"Do these flashbacks happen often?" Mr. Tellie asked uneasily.

"Uh… Well, they _have_ been happening a lot… today. But don't worry; I'm okay, really." Charlotte stammered, blushing and letting out an embarrassed giggle.

"Hey, it's okay. That happens to _me_ all the time. It's no big deal, really. Come on." Mr. Wonka said; Charlotte took his hand and continued walking.

He soon led the group down the hall and they stopped at a door marked 'Nut Sorting Room'.


	10. The Nut Room (Priscilla Surf)

"Ah, here's a room _I_ know all about. You see, Mr. Wonka, I just so happen to be in the nut business myself." Mrs. Surf said as she gave a business card to Mr. Wonka who gave it to Charlotte who immediately threw it over her shoulder. "Are you using the Havermax 4000 to sort all your nuts? Or are you using something new and more up to date?"

"No. You know, you're _just_ like the last guy who told me he was in the nut business. You guys _always_ prefer the boring, old-fashioned way to sort _your_ nuts. A big old snooza-palooza, if you ask me." Mr. Wonka chuckled.

"Well, how do _you_ do it then?" Priscilla asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'll show you right now." Mr. Wonka said as he opened the door. "I prefer… the fun, creative way to sort nuts."

As the door opened, Mr. Wonka led the group into the room for everyone to see that it was lined with tiny little chairs and hundreds of gray squirrels were sitting on them; it looked like they were sorting out different kinds of nuts that came to them. Priscilla smiled, Jeff made a confused sneer, and Charlotte stared in awe at the sight.

"Squirrels!" Priscilla cried excitedly.

"Yeah, and a hundred of them no less. You see, these squirrels are specially trained to get all kinds of nuts out of their shells." Mr. Wonka said.

"Why use squirrels and not Oompa-Loompas?" Mrs. Surf asked.

"Because only squirrels can get the entire nut out of the shell in one piece every single time." Mr. Wonka replied. "See how they knock on the shell with their little knuckles? That's to make sure it's not bad. Oh, look! Look! I think the little guy over there has got a bad nut."

Mr. Wonka smiled and pointed his finger at a squirrel to his right that was testing to see if it was bad, which it was, and the little rodent threw it over its shoulder into a large gaping hole in the very middle of the room, just like some others squirrels were doing.

'They are so cute!' Charlotte thought.

"Isn't that adorable?" Mr. Wonka asked.

Charlotte and Priscilla nodded their heads while Jeff said nothing and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care.

"Mommy, _I_ want a squirrel. Get me one of those squirrels. I want one." Priscilla told her mother.

"Here we go…" Jeff muttered in annoyance.

'Ugh! Not this again.' Charlotte thought, raising a hand over her eyes.

"Priscilla, darling, you have many wonderful pets already." Mrs. Surf said calmly.

"Oh please! All I have at home is one pony, three dogs, five cats, seven rabbits, three parakeets, six yellow finches, a blue parrot, a gecko, a turtle, a tank full of ten goldfish, a gray gerbil, three brown hamsters, and a stupid old guinea pig! I want a _squirrel_!" The little girl demanded, raising her voice and stomping her little foot.

While Priscilla was listing her seemingly countless pets, Charlotte kept track and counted all of them on her fingers; she soon counted out forty-one pets in total! She looked at Mr. Wonka with wide eyes; he shrugged his shoulders at her and made an uneasy smirk.

"Geez, this girl has _more_ pets than that _last_ spoiled girl who was here." Mr. Wonka whispered in Charlotte's ear.

"I feel you, man. No good _ever_ comes from spoiling a child like that." Charlotte whispered back.

"Wise words."

"Alright, sweetheart. Mommy will get you a squirrel just as soon as she can, I promise you." Mrs. Surf said in the same calm tone as before.

"I don't want _any_ old squirrel, Mommy. I want a _trained_ squirrel, one of those nut-shelling squirrels down there." Priscilla demanded.

'Geez…' Charlotte thought, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"Picky, picky, picky. Is there no pleasing this girl?" Jeff groaned in a whisper.

"I heard that, Jeff." Priscilla angrily said to Jeff who rolled his eyes in response.

"Very well, my sweet." Mrs. Surf sighed in defeat, turning her head to face Mr. Wonka. "Excuse me, Mr. Wonka. How much do you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price."

Priscilla smiled a big fake smile and looked up at the guide; hoping he would agree.

"Oh. None of my squirrels are for sale; she can't have one." Mr. Wonka answered bluntly.

"Who says I can't?" Priscilla asked.

"Come now, let's make a deal; I'm certain we can work _something_ out. What do you want?" Mrs. Surf tried to argue, but Mr. Wonka was having none of it.

"Nothing. I'm sorry, ma'am; you can say whatever you like to me, but it's already _out_ of the question. Your daughter _cannot_ have one of my squirrels and that's that; this conversation is finished." Mr. Wonka replied in a stern tone.

The little girl's smile slowly faded, being replaced by an angry look as she looked back at her mother and said,

"Mommy?"

"I'm so sorry, my dear. Mr. Wonka's being unreasonable." Mrs. Surf said.

All the while, Mr. Wonka was mockingly lip-syncing with Mrs. Surf's sentence. Charlotte kept her laughter contained yet again and Priscilla was now glaring darkly at her.

"Oh, so you think this is funny?" She said.

"What? N-no." Charlotte denied, shaking her head. "I… I, uh—"

"Don't lie to me! I've been seeing _and_ hearing you try not to laugh every moment we were here! You can't fool me! I also heard you whispering to Mr. Wonka! I bet you're making fun of me for wanting one of his squirrels, aren't you?"

"What?! No, I wasn't! I swear! I would never—" Charlotte cried in surprise.

"Likely story." Priscilla huffed before stomping on Charlotte's foot.

"Ow!" She cried.

"Hey! You leave Charlotte out of this!" Mr. Wonka demanded, protectively putting his arm in front of Charlotte.

"Yes, darling. _Please_ don't drag the young lady into this whole thing. I don't think she even _wants_ to get involved." Mrs. Surf said.

'You have no idea.' Charlotte thought, wincing in a mix of pain and fear.

"Whoa, this just got interesting…" Jeff muttered with wide eyes.

"Alright, fine! If _mommy_ won't get me one of those squirrels, I'll just go get one myself! Just you try and stop me!" Priscilla said before climbing through the gate and into the room.

"Priscilla?" Mrs. Surf called.

"Little girl?" Mr. Wonka added.

'What the heck is she doing out there?' Charlotte thought.

"Priscilla, please come back. Young lady, I said come back here _at once_." Mrs. Surf demanded.

But Priscilla wouldn't listen to her mother. She just walked around the room, searching for the right squirrel she wanted claim as her own. Soon, she spotted the nut sorting rodent she desired; it was one at the end of one of the tables to her right. She walked closer to it, the other squirrels stopping what they were doing and turning around to look at Priscilla.

"Please don't touch my squirrels, little girl! You'll just make them angry!" Mr. Wonka calmly demanded.

"Let me see…" Priscilla said to herself, clearly not listening to Mr. Wonka.

"This suspense is killing me…" Jeff muttered as he leaned on the railing. "I hope it'll last."

'This is bad. Really, _really_ bad. I'd bail right this instant if I were her.' Charlotte thought.

Priscilla stopped at the squirrel and looked at it for a few moments of silence; it intensely stared back at her.

"I'll have _you_." She finally said.

She slowly reached out her hands to grab the rodent only for that squirrel and its companions and neighbors to jump off from their stools and charge angrily towards the little girl; she gasped in surprise as she tried to back away from the hoard.

"What are you doing?! Get away from me! Back off!" She screamed as she tried to get away.

"Priscilla, sweetheart! Oh no!" Mrs. Surf shouted worriedly as she desperately tried to get past the gate.

Mr. Wonka then pulled a large ring of keys from his coat and he began to slowly search for the key to unlock the barrier that led to the ground floor, Mrs. Surf getting more and more worried by the second. Before anyone knew it, Priscilla was completely covered in squirrels and she fell on her back onto the floor.

"Let me just find the right key… Nope. Not that one." Mr. Wonka said to himself, shuffling through more keys.

"Mommy! Help!" Priscilla cried.

"Shouldn't we do something to help her?" Charlotte asked.

"Are you kidding me? This is the _funniest_ thing I've seen all day!" Jeff commented, leaning on the railing with a huge smile on his face.

"Jeff, how could you?! I thought we were cool!" Priscilla yelled.

"Every kid for themselves now, Prissy!" Jeff shouted at Priscilla.

"Oh no, my little girl!" Mrs. Surf cried again.

"Okay. _There_ it is… there it _isn't_." Mr. Wonka joked, looking back at his keys.

"Mommy! Hey, what's the big idea?! Why doesn't anyone come and help me?! Somebody, anybody! I just want them to stop!" Priscilla shrieked.

The next thing everyone knew, Priscilla was pinned down to the floor by the hoard of squirrels. One squirrel climbed onto her and knocked on her head, then there was awkward silence for a good few moments.

"What are they doing to her?" Charlotte asked.

"They're testing her to see if she's a bad nut." Mr. Wonka answered.

That was when the leader squirrel made an unpleasant chattering shriek, indicating that she was indeed a bad nut.

"Looks like we have a bad nut after all… Yeah, it's not like I didn't see that coming." He said.

The swarm of buck-toothed, bushy-tailed rodents then made their way underneath the bratty little girl and they began to drag her towards the hole in the middle of the floor.

"Where are those rats taking Priscilla?" Mrs. Surf asked.

"First of all, they're not _rats_ ; they _might_ be distant cousins, but they are certainly _not_ the same thing. Second of all, they're taking her to where all bad nuts go, to the garbage chute." Mr. Wonka answered.

"But where does the garbage chute go?"

"To the furnace at the very bottom; that's where all of the factory trash goes. But don't worry, we only light it on Tuesdays."

"Today _is_ Tuesday, genius." Jeff pointed out.

Mr. Wonka glared at Jeff, then he went back to a nervous smile.

"Well… there's still always the chance they decided _not_ to light it today." He said uneasily.

"A pretty _slim_ chance, really." Charlotte commented with a nervous chuckle.

Mr. Wonka nervously smirked and nodded his head at her.

Finally, the squirrel hoard made their way to the edge of the garbage chute and Priscilla slid down it at a great speed, screaming in terror all the while. The rodents then ran back to their stations and went back to work as if nothing had happened. It seemed like they didn't care if they roasted someone alive.

"Now, the thing is… she might be stuck in the chute somewhere just near the top. If that's the case here, all _you_ need to do is just reach in and pull her out." Mr. Wonka informed Mrs. Surf before reluctantly unlocking the gate to let her pass through.

As Mrs. Surf was making her way towards the chute, some Oompa-Loompas came out of two little doorways, one on either side of the room and it looked like they were about to start another song. Mr. Wonka was waving his head side to side along with the beat of the music; Charlotte smiled and did the same thing.

" _Priscilla Surf, the little brute_

 _Has just gone down the garbage chute_

 _And she will be as she descends_

 _A rather different set of friends_

 _A rather different set of friends_

 _A rather different set of friends_

 _A fish head, for example, cut_

 _This morning from a halibut_

 _A spoiled clam from a clam stew_

 _Pork chops that no one else would chew_

 _And lots of other things as well_

 _Each with its rather horrid smell_

 _Horrid smell_

 _These are Priscilla's new found friends_

 _That she will meet as she descends_

 _There are Priscilla's newfound friends!_ "

Just as Mrs. Surf was calmly walking towards the opening of the chute, the Oompa-Loompas were telling her a special message in song form.

" _Who went and spoiled her, who indeed?_

 _Who pandered to her every need?_

 _Who turned her into such a brat?_

 _Who are the culprits?_

 _Who did that?_

 _The guilty ones_

 _Now this is sad,_

 _Are dear old mom_

 _And loving dad_ "

And with that, a squirrel ran up from behind and kicked Mrs. Surf in the rump which caused her to fall into the chute right behind Priscilla. Mr. Wonka smiled and chuckled under his breath at the sight. Charlotte, on the other hand, couldn't keep her laughter contained any longer. Before anyone knew it, she suddenly burst out laughing like a deranged hyena; she was laughing so hard that her face turned red, tears were running down her cheeks, and she was leaning against the wall behind her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and saw that Mr. Wonka, Jeff, and his father were all staring at her. She stopped, caught her breath, and stood straight again as she smoothed out her skirt.

"Uh… sorry." She said embarrassedly, her smile quickly fading.

"You know… you have a really nice laugh." Mr. Wonka said politely.

"Really? Thank you."

Charlotte suddenly felt something gently pulling on her skirt. She looked and saw that it was another Oompa-Loompa looking up at her.

"Oh, hello there." She greeted politely.

The tiny man gestured her to come closer to him. She was confused, but she knelt down to his height and he whispered something into her ear.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh, mm-hm. Really? Oh! Okay, thank you. I'll tell him." Charlotte said, standing up as the Oompa-Loompa walked away.

"What's going on?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"He just told me to tell you that the furnace down there is broken and that there should be about three or four weeks of rotting garbage to break their fall." She answered.

"Oh! Is that all?" He asked, smiling.

"Yep. At least they'll be okay, right?"

"Oh, absolutely. Happy endings all around."

"Yeah… sure. Whatever floats your boat." Mr. Tellie said in a sarcastic tone.

"Wait… why did that Oompa-Loompa tell _you_ and _not_ Mr. Wonka? And how can you understand what he was even saying?" Jeff asked Charlotte.

"I… have no idea." Charlotte replied, shrugging her shoulders in a confused and innocent manner.

"Hmmm, that _is_ interesting…" Mr. Wonka pondered.

"Try _weird_." Jeff commented.

"Well… what are we waiting for? Let's keep on going, folks." Mr. Wonka said, leading the group out of the Nut Sorting Room.


	11. The Glass Wonkavator

They soon found themselves standing by an elevator with a glass door and matching glass walls. Mr. Wonka pushed the button next to the door, the door opened, and casually walked inside with everybody right behind him.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. The Wonkavator is by far the most _efficient_ way to get around this place instead of just walking." He said.

"What's so special about _this_ thing? …Wait, there can't be _this_ many floors." Jeff said, staring at the wall of buttons.

"No so fast, Mr. Smarty Pants." Mr. Wonka said. "This _isn't_ an ordinary up and down elevator, no, no, no. This doesn't go to _floors_ ; it goes to any _room_ in the factory we want. It can go sideways, slantways, long ways, and any other ways you can think of. You just push any button up here, and whoosh, you're off!"

Mr. Wonka pushed one of the buttons on the wall and everyone was suddenly hurled through the factory by the elevator; up and down, left and right, side to side. They soon passed by a large snow-covered mountain.

"Gentlemen… and _lady_ , welcome to Fudge Mountain!" Mr. Wonka enthusiastically announced.

Some Oompa-Loompas were seen chipping fudge rocks off the mountain with pickaxes and Mr. Wonka and Charlotte smiled and waved hello to them. The elevator pressed on; it went by a line of pink sheep being sheared by two more Oompa-Loompas.

"Oh! Uh… I'd rather not talk about this one." Mr. Wonka whispered awkwardly.

Charlotte nodded in response while Jeff and Mr. Tellie said nothing. They were soon passing over an infirmary of some sort; the strange thing was that its occupants were the burnt puppets from the entrance to the factory earlier that morning.

"This is the Puppet Hospital and Burn Center. And I must admit… not one of my _better_ ideas."

The next thing they knew, everyone was quickly going down row after row of Oompa-Loompas all sitting at office desks and using type-writers.

"Ah, down here are the administrations offices. Hello, Doris!" Mr. Wonka said to an Oompa-Loompa wearing a frumpy secretary dress and glasses who waved at him and Charlotte.

With a sudden jerk backwards and downwards, everyone passed into a room full of fireworks and explosions where Oompa-Loompas are shooting candy cannons at each other. Jeff looked at everything with a bored expression; it looked like he wasn't enjoying himself at all.

"Why is everything here completely _pointless_?" He asked.

"Candy doesn't have to have a point, that's why it's candy." Charlotte said, putting her hand on her hip and smiling; Mr. Wonka smiled at her comment.

'Just what Charlie said.' He thought.

"Are you kidding me? It's stupid! Just a big old waste of time." Jeff shouted as he punched Charlotte in the arm.

"Ow!" Charlotte cried as she felt the young boy's tiny fist hit her. "What was that for?"

"You were just getting on my nerves." Jeff replied.

"Jeff!" Mr. Tellie scolded.

"Ugh. Cool it, dad. I'm just stating a fact."

"Not that! You know better than to hit girls!"

Jeff just groaned and rolled his eyes at his father in response.

Mr. Wonka ignored the boy's comments and kept a calm smile on his face. Charlotte, however, _couldn't_ ignore Jeff's constant bullying and taunting of her. Her normal smile turned into a frown and she stared out the translucent wall of the elevator away from everyone else. Mr. Wonka noticed Charlotte's change of mood and he gently turned her around to see Charlotte rubbing the part of her arm where Jeff had punched her and a few tears start to fall from her eyes.

"Charlotte, are you okay?" Mr. Wonka asked worriedly. "You're crying."

"What? Huh? Am I?" She asked, wiping her face to see a few tears staining her finger. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Jeff is just trying to get under your skin. Don't listen to him, okay?" He gently wiped another tear from Charlotte's face.

"Okay." Charlotte replied with a small smile; he smiled back at her.

"Hey! _I_ wanna pick a room!" Jeff said, raising his voice.

"Huh, what? Yeah, yeah whatever. Go ahead." Mr. Wonka said, not turning his attention away from Charlotte.

Jeff rolled his eyes before he looked at the wall of buttons; only one had caught his eye. He pushed it and the elevator zoomed off to the right. It arrived in a white, bright, sterile room, where the Oompa-Loompas were wearing white jumpsuits and protective glasses; it was dubbed the 'Television Room'.


	12. The Television Room (Jeff Tellie)

Television cameras were lining the walls and bright light came from parts of the ceiling. As they walked in, everyone squinted their eyes because everything was so bright.

"Here, put these glasses on and whatever you do, _don't_ take them off." Mr. Wonka said as he gave everyone each a pair of protective glasses. "These lights could do some _serious_ damage to your eyes. In fact, they could even _blind_ you if you're not careful, and we certainly don't want that, do we?"

Mr. Wonka led the group down to the first level of the room as he explained the purpose of it.

"This is the testing room for my greatest invention; Television Chocolate!" He explained. "The first time I saw television and learned how it worked, I had an idea. If television can break up a photo into millions of little pieces, send them flying through the air, and reassemble on the other end, then why can't _I_ do the same thing with chocolate? Why can't I send a real bar of chocolate through the television, all ready to be eaten?"

"Sounds pretty impossible, Mr. Wonka." Mr. Tellie said.

"That's because it _is_ impossible." Jeff corrected his father.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and thought, 'Oh no. Not again.'

"You don't understand anything about science." Jeff rambled in a know-it-all tone as he and the rest of the group went up to a control panel. "First of all, there's a big difference between waves and particles. Pfft, DUH! And second, do you know how much power it would take to convert energy into matter? It would be like _nine_ atomic bombs!"

"MUMBLER!" Mr. Wonka and Charlotte screamed in unison.

"Seriously, I cannot understand a single word you're saying." Mr. Wonka said to Jeff.

"Five words of advice, kid: Do. Not. Use. Big. Words." Charlotte added.

'How the heck did they…?' Jeff thought.

The room was awkwardly silent for a good few seconds; Mr. Wonka then broke it with another statement.

"Okie-dokie. I shall now send a bar of chocolate from one end of the room to the other, by television! Bring in the chocolate!" He called.

Soon, a team of six Oompa-Loompas were seen bringing in a mammoth-sized chocolate bar and placing it onto the platform.

"Wow. That's probably the biggest candy bar I've ever seen." Mr. Tellie commented.

"It _has_ to be really big. Because you know how you can film a regular sized man and he comes out looking this tall on the screen? Same basic principle." Mr. Wonka explained before looking at Charlotte. "Do _you_ want to start the machine, Charlotte?"

" _Me_?" Charlotte asked.

" _Her_?" Jeff asked at the same time.

"Yeah, go ahead. And don't worry, it's perfectly safe." Mr. Wonka said calmly.

"Hold up, why do you want _her_ to push the button?" Jeff asked.

"Mr. Wonka, he has a point… for once. Why do you want me to—?" Charlotte started before being interrupted.

"Because I _trust_ you, Charlotte." Mr. Wonka replied.

"You do?" Charlotte and Jeff asked in unison.

"Of course I do. Go on, dear; it's okay." Mr. Wonka said, ushering the girl forward.

Charlotte looked at the button nervously before looking at Mr. Wonka who was giving her an encouraging smile as he gave her a pat on the back to calm her down. She looked at the cameras and the Oompa-Loompas were all smiling at her and giving her a thumbs-up, then she looked back at the button. Taking a deep breath, she slowly reached out her hand and pushed the button. Shortly after she did, the enormous bar of chocolate began to float up into the air. The cameras took their positions and in one second flat, the chocolate bar disappeared in a bright flash.

"It's gone?!" Mr. Tellie exclaimed.

"Told ya." Mr. Wonka said. "Right now, that bar of chocolate is rushing through the air above our heads in a million little pieces. Come over here, come on!"

"Whoa!" Charlotte cried as Mr. Wonka grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him.

Jeff and his father followed close behind the two as they all ran towards the television set on the other side of the room. They carefully watched the screen for a few seconds until finally, a normal sized chocolate bar was there. Charlotte's eyes widened; Mr. Wonka's machine worked. It really, really worked!

"What are you waiting for? Take it." Mr. Wonka said to Jeff.

"How _can_ I take it? It's just a picture on a screen… _duh_." Jeff smugly pointed out.

"Scaredy cat." Mr. Wonka muttered before turning his head to look at Charlotte. " _You_ take it."

"Uh… are you sure?" Charlotte asked hesitantly.

"Go on, just reach out your hand and grab it. It's okay. _You_ started the machine, you can _certainly_ do this." He said reassuringly.

Even though she was very frightened and a little skeptical at first, Charlotte decided to give it a try. She gulped before slowly reaching out her hand to try and grab the bar of chocolate, thinking that she would touch glass. But to her and everyone else's surprise, her arm seemed to phase straight through the screen of the television and she took out the candy bar; it was as real as ever.

"Whoa…" She whispered, holding the bar in her hands and looking back at Mr. Wonka.

"Eat it." Mr. Wonka said. "Go on, my dear. It'll be delicious; it's the same bar from before, it just got a little smaller on the journey."

Charlotte unwrapped the candy bar, took a small bite, smiled, and said to Mr. Wonka, "It's _perfect_."

"Unbelievable is what it is…" Mr. Tellie exclaimed; Jeff merely said nothing.

"So imagine this." Mr. Wonka walked away from the television and explained his theory to the small group. "You're sitting at home watching television minding your own business and suddenly a commercial will come on. And then a voice will say, "Wonka's chocolates are the best in the world! If you don't believe us, try one for yourself." And then… you simply reach out and take it! Wouldn't _that_ be something?"

'That sounds… flippin' _awesome_!' Charlotte thought, nodding her head and smiling to herself.

"Can you send other things through this? Like breakfast cereal, for example?" Mr. Tellie asked.

"Ugh, do you have any idea what breakfast cereal is made of? It's those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners. Yuck…" Mr. Wonka replied.

"But could you send it by television if you wanted to?" Charlotte asked.

"Of course I could." He said. "Actually, I think I can send pretty much _anything_."

"Anything?" Mr. Tellie asked.

"Certainly. Like Mint Jujubes, Everlasting Gobstoppers, Candy-Coated Pencils, Rainbow Drops, Magic-Hand Fudge… _anything_.

"What about people? Can you send a person through this thing?" Jeff asked.

"Uh… Why would I _ever_ want to send a person?" Mr. Wonka asked. "It would be _much_ too dangerous. Plus, they _always_ come back with messy results… _and_ they taste absolutely terrible."

"Dude! Don't you realize what you've invented?! It's a _teleporter_!" Jeff yelled. "It's probably the most important invention in history of history! And all you ever think about is chocolate! It's sickening!"

"You know what? That is _exactly_ what Mike Teavee said when he was here!" Mr. Wonka remarked. "Only _he_ wasn't as loud as _you_."

Jeff did a face-palm as he groaned in frustration.

"Jeff, relax. I think Mr. Wonka knows what he's talking about here." Mr. Tellie told his son; Charlotte nodded in response. They seemed to ignore Mr. Wonka's last comment.

"No, he doesn't! He has no idea what he's doing! You all think he's so brilliant, but he's a moron! Not to mention, he's _insane_! But _I'm_ not." Jeff concluded in a snotty tone; it looked like he was now at his wit's end.

"Oh, please." Charlotte scoffed out loud, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Jeff turned his head to look at Charlotte; his angry frown seemed to grow larger as he looked at the adolescent girl; she innocently took another small bite of chocolate.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" He asked darkly.

Charlotte looked at Jeff who was now giving her a nasty and disapproving glare; her back stiffened as she nervously looked at him.

"Uh, um… Coughing! I was coughing! I didn't say anything, those weren't words." Charlotte lied.

"Come on! I can tell you're lying, just like you did to Priscilla back in the Nut Room." Jeff said, walking closer to the teenager before stopping exactly two inches away from her face. "I asked you once, I'll ask you again; what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! I don't mean anything, I swear. I just think—"

"Seriously? Are you actually _standing up_ for this _joker_?"

"…So what if I am?"

"I knew it! You're just standing up for him because you think _you're_ his favorite!"

"What? _Me_? Mr. Wonka's _favorite_? No way!"

" _Yes_ way! After today, I can definitely say to everyone I know back home that this man is nothing but an idiotic, psychotic, sugar-crazed deadbeat and _you_ are probably _twice_ as stupid and crazy as _he_ is."

Charlotte winced; she couldn't take Jeff's bratty comments and snarky attitude anymore. Finally, she took in a deep breath and let it all out.

"You know something, kid? I tried to be nice to you; I tried to be patient with you, heck I even tried to stay _quiet_ around you. But as of now, I have had it up to HERE with your snotty tone, know-it-all personality, and overall bad attitude!" She shouted; Mr. Tellie and Mr. Wonka flinched in fear at the girl's loud tone of voice, but she continued to rant. "You say Mr. Willy Wonka is a crazy idiot, _I_ say he's an absolute _genius_! And _you_? _You're_ probably the biggest, loudest, nastiest, snarkiest _numbskull_ I've ever met in my entire life!"

"Numbskull?! ME?! I am _not_!"

"Oh, of course you're not. I bet you say _lots_ of big words all the time and you don't even know the _meaning_ of some of them!"

"Who says?!"

"Hey. If you want to prove you're right, why don't _you_ go up to _that_ machine right now, turn it on, use it on _yourself_ , and show me what you think it can really do?"

"Uh, what are you…?" Mr. Tellie asked.

"Don't worry, sir; I can _definitely_ see where _this_ is going." Mr. Wonka muttered. "Just let her handle it."

"Handle _what_?" Mr. Tellie asked again.

"Oh, yeah? I bet I could prove you wrong." Jeff spat.

"No, you couldn't." Charlotte replied, shaking her head and scrunching her nose.

"Yes, I _could_."

"No, you could _not_."

"I _could_!"

"You could _not_!"

"I _could_!"

"You could _not_!"

"I _could_!"

"You could _NOT_!"

"That's it! You want proof? _I'll_ show you proof!"

And with that being said, Jeff pushed Charlotte out of his way as he ran up to the machine at top speed, but not before kicking her hard in the leg. On his way there, he didn't even notice that he pushed Charlotte so hard that she fell straight to the floor with a thud. Mr. Wonka quickly helped her get back onto her feet.

"Hey, little boy? Don't push my button!" Mr. Wonka warned.

"Oh my gosh. What have I done?" Charlotte muttered, doing a mental face-palm as she unconsciously rubbed her sore leg.

"Don't worry. It's not your fault, sweetheart; he brought it on himself." Mr. Wonka quietly replied. "Besides, he was _bound_ to get himself into some kinda trouble eventually… especially with _that_ big mouth."

"I regret nothing!" Jeff yelled before pushing the button and jumping onto the platform.

Soon, the shrinking process began once again. The little boy started to slowly float up into the air as the cameras took their positions and aimed at him and in a bright flash just like before, Jeff had vanished.

"JEFF! He's gone! My son is gone!" Mr. Tellie cried, turning back to Mr. Wonka. "Where did he go?!"

"Mr. Tellie, I am so sorry—" Charlotte stuttered.

"Don't worry about it, Charlotte. Let's go check the television and see what we get. He should come up at any second, we'll need to be ready." Mr. Wonka said as the rest of the group made their way back to the waiting television set. "I sure hope no part of him gets left behind."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Tellie questioned.

"Well, sometimes only _half_ of the little pieces find their way through… _and_ the pieces reassembling can kinda take a little more time than usual." Mr. Wonka replied.

"That makes sense." Charlotte commented.

"What?! What makes you say _that_?" Mr. Tellie snapped at her.

"Yeesh, no need to snap. All I'm saying is that humans _are_ more complex than chocolate bars atomic wise, so it _would_ make sense for all of the little pieces to take a little longer than normal to reassemble all together." She calmly answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Mr. Wonka proudly commented.

Before Mr. Tellie could say another word, he was interrupted Mr. Wonka speaking to an Oompa-Loompa behind him, "Try flipping through every channel. I'm starting to get a little nervous."

The Oompa-Loompa used a remote control to go through the channels and soon, Jeff appeared and he was standing on a news report desk.

"There he is." Charlotte pointed out.

"Oh boy…" Mr. Wonka muttered.

"Jeff, son!" Mr. Tellie cried.

That was when the Oompa-Loompas began to sing yet another song.

" _The most important thing_

 _That we've ever learned_

 _The most important thing we've learned_

 _As far as children are concerned_

 _Is never, never let them near_

 _The television set_

 _Or better still just don't install_

 _The idiotic thing at all_

 _Never, never let them_

 _Never, never let them_

 _Never, never let them_

 _Never, never let them_

 _It rots the senses in the head_

 _It keeps imagination dead_

 _It clogs and clutters up the mind_

 _It makes a child so dull and blind_

 _So dull, so dull_

 _He can no longer understand_

 _A fairy tale, a fairyland_

 _A fairyland, a fairyland_

 _His brain becomes as soft as cheese_

 _His thinking powers rust and freeze_

 _He cannot think, he only sees_

 _Regarding little Jeff Tellie_

 _We very much regret that we_

 _Regret that we_

 _Shall simply have to wait and see_

 _Wait and see, wait and see_

 _Wait and see, wait and see, wait and see_

 _We very much regret that we_

 _Shall simply have to wait and see_

 _If we can get him back his height_

 _But if we can't_

 _It serves him right_ "

"Ew! Somebody grab him, quick." Mr. Wonka said.

Mr. Tellie reluctantly reached into the television and grabbed his son with his thumb and index finger. He held the boy in front of Mr. Wonka and Charlotte, all three staring; Jeff was now at least five or six inches tall.

"Hating this!" Jeff screamed in a high pitch.

'He's so… puny.' Charlotte thought as she stared with wide eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness. He's in one piece AND perfectly fine." Mr. Wonka said in a calm yet uneasy tone.

"FINE?! YOU CALL _THIS_ 'FINE'?!" Mr. Tellie shrieked.

"Huh, I guess I was wrong." Charlotte muttered.

"Ha! I knew it!" Jeff loudly cried in a smug tone. "You finally admit your defeat! _I_ was right after all! So _I_ win!"

"What? No. I wasn't wrong about Mr. Wonka's machine. I was wrong I thought that you couldn't get any smaller than you already are… well, were."

Mr. Wonka stifled his laughter before noticed the dark glare Mr. Tellie was giving him; he looked back at Jeff.

"Yep, saw this coming from a _mile_ away…" He muttered.

Jeff then turned towards Mr. Wonka and shouted at him, "How do I turn back to normal? Can't you just put me back in the other way?!"

"Uh… I don't think there _is_ another way." Charlotte commented.

"What?!" Jeff and his father yelled.

"She's right. It's tele _vision_ , not tele _phone_. Big difference." Mr. Wonka added.

"Oh, come on! Is _every_ adult around here a moron?!" Jeff ranted.

Mr. Wonka sighed and shook his head in utter annoyance.

"And what do _you_ propose we should do about it, Wonka?" Mr. Tellie asked.

"Um… I don't know. But I _will_ tell you one thing, young men are extremely springy; they stretch like mad." Mr. Wonka said.

"Hey, Mr. Wonka! Aren't you gonna compliment that brat again?" Jeff said sarcastically. "Like how her pale skin _glows_ in this light? Even _I_ can see it through these bug-eye glasses. And you do know that _she_ was the one who started all this, right?"

Charlotte sighed, rolled her eyes, and shook her head in response; even at six inches tall, he still has a mouth as big as a hippo's. Mr. Wonka looked at Charlotte and closely examined her complexion; he looked back at Jeff and nodded his head.

"You're right; her skin _does_ glow in this light. And it isn't pale; it's _fair_ … sorta like _my_ skin tone." Mr. Wonka remarked. "…And you should know that she _did_ say she was sorry."

Jeff groaned and crossed his tiny arms over his chest in defeat before Charlotte had an idea; she tapped Mr. Wonka on the shoulder.

"Mr. Wonka? Does this factory have a room or a machine used for pulling taffy?" She asked.

"Yes, yes it does. Why? Do you want to check it out next after this?" Mr. Wonka asked, looking back at her.

"No, but I thought of something. You just said young men are springy and stretch like mad so…"

Mr. Wonka quickly got what she was saying; he gasped and smiled excitedly before saying, "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

"Think of what?" Mr. Tellie asked.

"Let's go put Jeff in the taffy puller!" Mr. Wonka answered.

"Taffy puller?!" Mr. Tellie screamed in shock.

"Hey! That was _her_ idea!" Mr. Wonka said, pointing a finger at Charlotte.

Mr. Wonka looked back at the tiny boy as he muttered, "Yeah… The taffy puller worked _last_ time, why not a _second_ time?"

"SECOND TIME?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Mr. Tellie shrieked.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Charlotte commented.

" _You_ stay outta this! You've said enough!" Jeff yelled at her.

Mr. Wonka quickly turned around to face the Oompa-Loompa that was sitting behind him and flicking the channels, he said, "Excuse me? I want you to take Mr. Tellie and his son up to the taffy puller and stretch him out at once."

The Oompa-Loompa obeyed and Mr. Tellie and his now doll-sized offspring followed the little man out of the room and to somewhere unknown.

"On with the tour?" Mr. Wonka asked as he walked away from the television set.

"Good idea." Charlotte answered before putting her chocolate bar down and following him.

The lights in the testing room slowly dimmed until they were completely turned off and the other Oompa-Loompas left their stations as Mr. Wonka and his only remaining guest were on their way back to the Glass Wonkavator.


	13. Charlotte is the Only One Left

"There's still so much left to see. Now, let me see how many children are left." He said, taking off his glasses and turning around, only to see Charlotte standing before him and no one else.

Charlotte took her glasses off as well before looking around her, then back at the guide. Mr. Wonka realized something.

"Charlotte… _you're_ the only one left?" He asked, bewildered.

"Yes… So?" She answered, nodding her head slowly.

After a long moment of silence, Mr. Wonka's face brightened up with a big excited smile as he looked at the teenager before him.

" _So_ that means you've _won_!" Mr. Wonka exclaimed, grabbing Charlotte's hand and shaking it.

"I… _huh_?!" She stuttered, shocked and confused.

"Congratulations, my dear Charlotte! You truly deserve it! I have never been so excited in my life and trust me; I have been _plenty_ excited in my lifetime!" Mr. Wonka continued his praising while shaking the girl's hand so violently that her arm could come off at any moment. "I had a hunch you were different right from the beginning, you know. Well done, sweetheart. Now, we mustn't dilly _or_ dally. We have an enormous number of things to do before the day is over. But luckily for you and me, we have the great Glass Wonkavator to speed things—"

He was suddenly interrupted by clumsily slamming into the glass elevator's door and falling flat on his back the moment he stopped shaking Charlotte's hand.

"Uh… you good?" She asked.

"…To speed things along." Mr. Wonka said as he quickly stood back up and gently shook his head.

He pushed a button and the door opened to let him and Charlotte pass through. After she disposed of her glasses and the moment she was inside, she saw that Mr. Wonka was excitedly eying a button titled 'Up and Out'.

"Up and Out? What does that mean?" She asked.

"Press the button and you'll find out." Mr. Wonka said with a smile. "You are gonna _love_ this part, I promise."

Charlotte smiled, reached out her hand, and pressed the 'Up and Out' button. Soon after she did, the Wonkavator suddenly shot up, going higher and higher and faster every second; Charlotte wondered what was going on.

"Oh my goodness. We're gonna need to gain more speed than this, otherwise we'll _never_ break through." Mr. Wonka said.

"Break through what?" Charlotte asked.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this a _second_ time. Well, here we go again, my dear. Up and out!"

"Wait, wait, wait! You mean—?"

"Yeah, I do."

"But-but-but-but-but…"

Mr. Wonka just crazily laughed in response as the elevator gained more and more speed as it went up and up. Just when Charlotte thought it couldn't get anymore horrifying, the elevator crashed through the window on the roof and was launched high into the gray cloudy sky. She wrapped her arms around Mr. Wonka's chest for safety and she shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the worst. And as the elevator was falling, Mr. Wonka pushed another button and four rocket-like jets sprung out from the roof of the elevator and it was now floating in mid-air.

"What happened? I didn't hear a crash. Are we dead?" Charlotte nervously asked, her eyes still shut tight.

"Far from it… It's okay, Charlotte. Open your eyes." Mr. Wonka said reassuringly.

As reluctant and terrified as she was, Charlotte did as she was told; she slowly opened her eyes, let go of Mr. Wonka's torso, and looked to see that he was right. She gave a sigh of relief, then a gasp in awe.

"What'd I tell you?" Mr. Wonka chuckled. "Oh, look down there. I sure hope our little friends learned something very important today, don't you?"

From her view high up, Charlotte could see the other four ticket winners leaving along with their parents. Eugene was the first to leave; he looked like an overstuffed chocolate bunny that was eating his own chocolate shell.

"Eugene! Stop that, you're eating yourself!" Mrs. Glob scolded.

"But Mommy, I can't help it! I'm so yummy!" Eugene said.

The second one to come out was Ruby and her father; she was completely red from head to toe and she was doing complex acrobatic tricks as she made her way forwards.

"Dad, look! I'm as flexible as a rubber band now! How cool is that?" Ruby said proudly.

"Yes honey, but you're _red_." Mr. Bernard said through gritted teeth.

The third was Priscilla Surf and her mother, both completely coated in trash from top to bottom. When she looked up to see the glass elevator in the air, she turned to her mother.

"Mommy, _I_ want a flying glass elevator like that one." She said.

"Priscilla, the only thing _you're_ getting today is a bath and that's final." Mrs. Surf said sternly.

"But I want it _now_!" She demanded. Her mother glared at her daughter and Priscilla kept quiet.

And the fourth and final brat was Jeff. When he and his father walked out, Jeff was now about ten feet tall and unnaturally flat.

"Jeff, the minute we get home, I'm throwing the television set right out the window." Mr. Tellie said.

"WHAT?! But, dad—" Jeff started.

"No buts, mister! The television is finished and that is final!" His father screamed.

The crowd outside the gates either took pictures or stared in shock and disgust as the four children walked out, all humiliated as can be. From above, it looked like a hilarious freak show parade to Charlotte. She laughed, knowing nobody else could hear her from all the way up there. Mr. Wonka gently tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to face him.

"Where do you live?" He asked.

"Oh! Over there, that huge stone building near the outskirts of town; that's the orphanage." Charlotte said.

She pointed her finger at the orphanage through the glass wall and Mr. Wonka nodded in response. Back at the orphanage, everybody inside was lazing around and doing nothing as usual. Jamie finally spoke up to ask Ms. Ethel a question.

"Geez, Charlotte has been gone _all day_. She has a lot of work to do. When will she be back, Ms. Ethel?" He asked.

"Hard to say, Jamie. But when she _does_ get back, I will tell you one thing; she is going to be in so much—"

Ms. Ethel's answer was suddenly interrupted by the Great Glass Elevator crashing through the roof; everyone screamed in terror and confusion as the Elevator landed right in the middle of the room. When the dust cleared, they all saw Charlotte inside standing beside Mr. Wonka.


	14. The Offer

"So much for being subtle." Charlotte said with a giggle.

"Sorry, I wasn't always the best driver." Mr. Wonka giggled back.

"What just happened…?" Ms. Ethel asked, bewildered and terrified at the same time.

"Hi, everyone!" Charlotte called through the glass as the doors opened to let her out. "I'm back!"

"CHARLOTTE?! What the heck is that?!" Tobias shouted.

"Can you do it again?" Zoe asked.

"Probably not." Charlotte answered, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. She then turned back to her gracious tour guide and smiled. "Oh! Everybody, this is Mr. Willy Wonka. He was nice enough to give me a ride back here."

"Yeah, but I still kinda need to work on my parking… as well as my driving." Mr. Wonka said, smirking embarrassedly.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ms. Ethel scoffed, gaping at the enormous hole in the ceiling before glaring back at Mr. Wonka.

"And you, ma'am, must be Charlotte's… and all these _other_ children's… mother-I mean, caretaker-I mean, legal guardian?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"More or less." Ms. Ethel grumbled.

"I see." He said, nodding his head.

"So, what are you doing _here_? Other than bringing a certain _someone_ home? …Someone who also happens to be in a _lot_ of trouble…" Ms. Ethel asked.

"Ma'am, I can't hear you when you mumble like that. Gives me a headache, I'll tell you." Mr. Wonka said.

"He says I've won something. Right, Mr. Wonka?" Charlotte asked.

"That's right." Mr. Wonka explained, putting a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "But it's not _just_ something. It's the most "something" something of any something that has ever been. Charlotte my dear, as of today, _I_ am going to give _you_ my entire factory."

"Say what?" Charlotte said with wide eyes.

"Pfft! Surely you can't be serious! You _must_ be joking." Ms. Ethel scoffed in disbelief. "You don't actually _trust_ her with your factory… _do_ you?"

"What? Of course I trust her. Why wouldn't I?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"But why on Earth would you ever give your own chocolate factory, your most prized possession in the world… to _her_ of all people?" Ms. Ethel asked.

"Hey!" Charlotte said.

"Because a few months ago, my partner, Charlie Bucket, and I were having a discussion in my office on what new candies to make and then outta nowhere, he asked me, 'Mr. Wonka? What would happen in the future?' I just told him that he'd inherit the factory and he'd be on his own after that, but then he told me that… he didn't want to work alone for the rest of his life. He said that he wanted to have a new coworker, someone he could trust and think of as a partner, an equal, _and_ a friend. I suddenly realized something; running a factory as big as my own is _very_ hard work, even for _me_. I figured that it was now a two person job, after all. Charlie was right; who would help him run the place after I was finally gone? At that moment, I realized: I must find Charlie a _new_ partner. And I _did_."

"So… _that's_ the reason for you to send out those golden tickets again." Ms. Ethel concluded.

"Exactly! You see, I invited five different children to the factory and the one who was the least rotten is the winner. And that's _you_ , Charlotte." Mr. Wonka exclaimed.

"I still don't believe it." Ms. Ethel groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Wow, Mr. Wonka. I-I-I… I'm honored, really I am. This is… this is _big_. Like, _really_ big. _Huge_ , even! I-I-I just don't know what to say." Charlotte stuttered.

"Maybe… say you're ready to leave this place behind and come live with _me_ at the factory?" Mr. Wonka asked hopefully before pausing for a moment.

"You mean _now_? As in, this very instant right now?" Charlotte asked in disbelief.

"Of course… But it's entirely _your_ choice, Charlotte…" Mr. Wonka said solemnly. "And it'll be totally fine with me if you say 'no' to my proposal… I still need an answer from you, though."

"Are you kidding me?! Of course I'm ready to leave!" Charlotte cried, grinning excitedly.

"WHAT?!" Ms. Ethel screamed.

"Really?" Mr. Wonka asked happily. "You're not messing with me? You _really_ mean it? Every word you're saying right now?"

"Yes, Mr. Wonka! My answer is yes! A thousand times, yes! I accept your offer!"

"Well, in that case… GREAT! Just let me sign those adoption papers, you go pack up your things, and let's get going! There's still so much left in store I want you to see and I don't want you to miss a thing."

Mr. Wonka smiled and offered his hand to Charlotte for her to join him once again but just when she was about to grab his hand, Ms. Ethel violently grabbed the girl by her shoulders and pulled her away from him.

"Oh no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-NO! Not so fast, Mister Candyman Smarty-Pants! _She_ is not going _anywhere_ with _you_!" She angrily shrieked.

"She's _not_?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"I'm _not_?" Charlotte asked at the same time as Mr. Wonka.

"Of course not! Charlotte is not leaving, especially with the likes of _you_!" Ms. Ethel replied smugly, as she pulled Charlotte closer to her. "She doesn't even _like_ chocolate, can't stand the stuff. And anything she said to you while she was on the tour… all _false_. She's a chronic liar, you know. A real problem."

Mr. Wonka looked at Charlotte in disbelief. "Is this _true_?"

"What!? No! Mr. Wonka, that's—" Charlotte's mouth was suddenly covered up by the hand of a younger boy named Ronald before she could finish.

"It is _absolutely_ true. And besides, she would be so terribly miserable if she left this place _and_ all of _us_ for good. We're like family to her; she's practically nothing without us, a broken shell of a person. And if you really cared about her, you'd want her to be happy, right? And you certainly wouldn't want her to be dismal and depressed for the rest of her life. Surely you understand, don't you?" Ms. Ethel asked, making a pouty face.

"Oh, I see. Yes… yeah, I understand. Family must come first, after all. Learned _that_ the hard way. So, in that case… I guess I should be going."

Mr. Wonka looked back at Charlotte with a saddened look in his purple eyes.

"Goodbye, Charlotte…"

He gently shook her hand, walked back into the Wonkavator, pushed a button, and just like that, Mr. Wonka was gone. Charlotte stared through the hole in the ceiling as the Great Glass Elevator disappeared into the gray clouds. She turned her attention back to Ms. Ethel, her eyes like burning embers and her face turning into a grotesque angry sneer.

"Why did you say those things?!" She shrieked. "You know perfectly well that I _don't_ lie! I was about to have a new life with the _greatest_ candy maker in the world! And now thanks to you saying those awful things about me right to his face, he might _never_ come back!"

Tina scoffed. "Face the music, Charlotte; you're _never_ gonna have a family, especially not with _that_ clown of a confectioner."

Charlotte gasped dramatically. "Mister Willy Wonka is _not_ a clown! He is the _best_ chocolatier on the planet, not to mention he's a wonderful man! He's been my idol for my _entire life_! In fact _he_ , _that_ golden ticket, and this whole _day_ was probably the _best thing_ that _ever_ happened to me… until you ruined it by lying directly to his face!"

"You're being hysterical. How could that _idiot_ be so amazing to you?" Tobias asked

"He calls me by my first name, he's been nothing but nice and kind to me since we met, he let me speak to his workers, the Oompa-Loompas, he makes me laugh, he actually _trusts_ me, and… and now he's probably the only real _friend_ I've ever had!" Charlotte shouted, not able to keep her anger contained anymore. "And _you_?! You just treat me like I'm a slave around here! You're not my _family_! Heck, you're not even my _friends_!"

"Ugh! Charlotte, you're acting just like I thought you would! I knew I should've disposed of you when I had the chance!" Ms. Ethel yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte demanded.

"I mean… I mean that since I took you in that first day, I hardly even stood the very _sight_ of you; even today, you make me sick! With your big green eyes, sickeningly sweet smile, that 'sweet and innocent' act! Yuck! Why I took you away from your parents and _murdered_ your mother without even killing _you_ , I'll never know!" The angry woman blurted out before quickly covering her mouth with both hands; her eyes widened at what she just said.

The room was deathly silent; nobody moved. Charlotte stared at Ms. Ethel with a look of shock, rage, confusion, and sadness; her eye slightly twitched as she breathed.

"You… you… YOU STOLE ME?! _AND_ KILLED MY MOM?!" Charlotte screamed, feeling fury and a deep hatred boiling up deep inside her.

Finally, Ms. Ethel sucked in a breath and then let it all loose as a great howling rant.

"Yes! Yes, yes! Okay, I admit it! I took you away from your family." She said. "Thanks to your father not loving ME when he had the chance; my prayers have finally been answered when _you_ came into his life. You know, you would've been _my_ daughter if your father married _me_. I simply took what was mine."

"But… but that makes no sense! My mother, how could you?!"

"How could I? It was simple; _I_ wanted something, your mother was in my way, I got rid of her. When that truck was coming down the street that day, all I had to do was give her one little push and that was the end of her, finally. Kidnapping _you_ a short year after her death was the final bit of icing on the revenge cake. I wanted to see your father _really_ suffer after a _second_ loss; he got what he deserved."

Charlotte breathed deeply for half a minute before her mood abruptly changed from shocked and hurt to furious.

"Second loss? …GOT WHAT HE DESERVED?! ARE YOU KIDDING? NOBODY deserves that!" She screamed, her eyes like a giant blazing bonfire. She let out an aggravated wail. "THAT IS IT! You've really pushed me over the limit this time, you fat, cruel, awful old hag! Sure I let the other times you torment me, ridicule me, tease me, and even beat me and smack me slide, but this? This REALLY takes the cake! Every time there's something cool or amazing in my life, _every time_ , YOU somehow always ruin it! And as of right now, I'm _not_ going to let any of you ruin anything else for me!"

She ran down to the basement, packed up all of her things, ran back up the stairs, and stormed out of the orphanage in a fit of rage as she screamed at them,

"I'M OUTTA HERE!"

And before anyone else knew it, Charlotte brutally shut the door behind her with a loud almost ear-shattering slam, leaving everyone in a short awkward silence before being broken a few seconds later by Tina.

"Whoa, I have NEVER seen Charlotte act like that before… It scared me." She said with a shiver.

"I know. Wonka and the visit to that damn factory must've changed her. She's so much _bolder_ now… and I _don't_ like it." Ms. Ethel commented.

"How long do you guys think she'd last out there? In town? All alone?" Ronald asked.

Silence.

"I give her until sunset." Jamie said.

" _I_ give her eleven minutes." Darla added.

But Charlotte never returned to the orphanage after that. As she stood on the stoop, she almost couldn't believe what just happened; she never had an emotional breakdown or a real temper tantrum like that before. But she didn't care; she knew the truth and she wanted nothing more to do with Ms. Ethel. After that, she decided to live on the streets all by herself and never turn back, always thinking of Willy Wonka and the short amount of time they had together. As for Mr. Wonka, however… let's just say he hasn't been himself as of late.

"I can't put my finger on it. Ever since that day, I can't seem to get Charlotte out of my mind. I'm always thinking about her and I don't know why." Mr. Wonka explained to an Oompa-Loompa psychiatrist. "She was so sweet, nice, silly, and pretty; for some reason, I always felt so comfortable around her, like I could tell her anything. But now that she's gone, I can't stop thinking about her. The weirdest thing was that she seemed so familiar, but I have no idea from where. And for some odd reason, she reminded me so much of my…"

Just then, he thought of something as he sat up.

"That's just it, isn't it?" He asked. "Charlotte is an _orphan_ , so she doesn't know where she came from. But maybe, just maybe, she knows a _little_ bit about her past. So all I have to do is go out, find her, and ask her some questions about what she remembers and then I probably won't feel so terrible about leaving her behind anymore! …You're _very_ good, doc."


	15. Finding Charlotte

One spring evening as the sun was about to set, Charlotte was sitting on a metal bench in the local park. She sighed as she gazed at the sketch book in her hands; she was drawing pictures of the factory, what she had seen within it, and especially Mr. Wonka himself… and she was helping herself to a treat or two from the special little bag the Oompa-Loompas had given her.

"Hey. Pity about that chocolate fellow. Wesley? Wallace?" A man who was sitting right next to Charlotte asked, not turning away from the newspaper he was reading.

"You mean Willy Wonka?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep, that's the one." The man replied.

"What about him? Is something wrong?" She questioned, not looking up from her sketchbook.

"Yeah. Says here in the paper that he's kind of in a creative slump right now."

"Mr. Wonka? In a _slump_? That's terrible!"

"Sure; whatever floats your boat. But I think he's just a big ol' rotten egg who deserves it. Don't _you_ think so?"

Charlotte dramatically gasped at the stranger's comment. In response, she slammed her book shut before she sat up as straight as a board and turned her head in the man's direction.

"How can you say that?! Willy Wonka doesn't deserve that at all!" She declared.

"How do _you_ know? Have you even _met_ him?" He asked.

"Yeah, I _did_ meet him. Most people might not know this, but he really is a great guy." She explained. "He's so funny, so nice, and such a gentleman. I met him on the day of the second factory tour a little while ago, which was _fantastic_ I must say. And it was also my _sixteenth_ birthday when it all happened."

"Oh, really? Well, happy belated birthday." The man said politely.

"Thanks." Charlotte said before going back to the last subject. "And Mr. Wonka, he's been my idol for practically my whole life and hardly anyone appreciates him for him anymore, but _I_ still do. Plus, I _really_ like his haircut. Surprisingly, it suits him. Uh… you won't mind if I vent a little, do you?"

"Well I have nothing better to do right now, so… knock yourself out."

"Okay, thanks… You know something about Mr. Wonka? Ever since that day we met, he's all I ever think about now. I think he's probably the only real friend I've ever made and _lost_ … all in the same day. And I can't put my finger on it, but it's as if I've seen him or met him before that day but I can't remember from where… and now I just can't get him outta my mind." Charlotte let out a sigh as she put her book back into her satchel.

"Really?"

The man quickly removed the newspaper from his face to reveal Willy Wonka; he was wearing his overcoat and a different pair of sunglasses.

"I can't stop thinking about _you_ , either."

Charlotte turned her head and gasped in shock when she saw his face.

"Mr. Wonka?! What are _you_ doing out here?!" She quietly asked, nearly dropping her bag of sweets.

"I don't feel so hot… Actually, I've feeling pretty sick to my stomach for a few days… and now I know why." He answered, gripping his stomach with one gloved hand. "Hey, what makes _you_ feel better when you feel bad?"

"Uh… as cheesy and lame as it sounds, _you_ always make me feel better. But, that still doesn't answer my first question. What exactly are you doing out here?"

"Oh, right. Right, sorry. The reason I came out here is… because I was looking for you."

" _Me_?"

"Yeah. I wanted to ask you a few things and what do I know? Here you are! How lucky is that, huh?"

"I guess."

Then Mr. Wonka realized something before looking at her again.

"Wait… Charlotte, what are _you_ doing out here all by yourself? It's getting dark. Shouldn't you be at the orphanage?" He asked.

"No… I moved out of the orphanage a few weeks ago. Now I live on the streets, alone." She answered with a sigh.

"Ew! Why?"

"Because the minute after you left… I might've had a bit of an emotional breakdown."

"What do you mean?"

"No, it's nothing. I don't wanna bore you."

"You're kidding; you NEVER bore me. Now come on, tell me what happened."

"Well… okay. After you left, I found out I was taken from my parents when I was really little _and_ I was nothing but a servant to those jerks, straight from Ms. Ethel herself. Plus, I found out that Ms. Ethel killed my mother several years ago by pushing her in front of a moving truck… and _she_ was the one who kidnapped me and took me to the orphanage in the first place. She did it for some kind of sick, twisted revenge against my dad or something like that. After she explained herself, I guess I just kinda snapped."

Mr. Wonka gasped, revolted and shocked all at the same time.

"You were _stolen_?! And that woman _killed_ your _mother_?! Oh Charlotte, I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no. It's okay, Mr. Wonka. It's not your fault, it never was. Plus, all those things Ms. Ethel said to you about me, _those_ were lies. I love chocolate more than _anything_ , even more than myself."

"Yeah… I kinda knew she was lying the whole time."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I could tell."

"How?"

"The look in her eyes; she must've been a _really_ practiced liar."

"Well, why didn't you say anything? Wait, how would…? …Do you know her?"

"Uh… let's just say our paths might've crossed once or twice. Sorry if I scared you."

"No, that's okay. At least _this_ is better than the life I had _before_ I met you _and_ got to know you. No more chores to do, insults to bear, or beatings to endure. Compared to that place, this is practically paradise. And now, no more anti-sugar rule; so, that's a bonus."

"Chores? Insults? Beatings? _And_ you weren't allowed to have _candy_?! That's horrible!"

"Yeah…"

"Charlotte, I had no idea! I thought those guys were your _family_!"

" _I_ kinda thought the same thing for a while… until they finally told me I'll never _have_ a family, especially not… with _you_."

Mr. Wonka gasped again, the shock stamped on his face. He slammed his newspaper down on the sidewalk.

"Charlotte; that is just… just _awful_!" He exclaimed. "Families are _not_ supposed to make you feel like you're worth nothing. They're supposed to appreciate and love you to make you feel like you're the most important thing in the world."

"Well, it turns out… they _don't_ love me. I don't think they ever even _liked_ me. In fact, they pretty much _hated_ me ever since I was taken in that first day. But maybe they're right; I probably deserve to be hated, even by… _you_ of all people."

Mr. Wonka was now engulfed with shock at what Charlotte was saying about herself; he couldn't take it anymore. He looked her directly in the eye.

"Charlotte, please _don't_ talk that way about yourself!" He exclaimed. "You don't deserve to be hated! You are a sweet, kind, wonderful girl and anyone on Earth would be lucky to even take a _glance_ at you for the very first time."

"Okay, now I _know_ you're exaggerating here." Charlotte scoffed, stuffing her tiny bag of candy into her sweatshirt pocket.

"I am _not_! I'm telling you the honest truth right now!" Mr. Wonka insisted as he held Charlotte's face in his gloved hands. "I know for a fact that _anybody_ on this gosh darn planet would be lucky to be friends with a fantastic young lady like you!"

"Oh, yeah? And how would _you_ of all people know that?" Charlotte asked, raising her voice.

"Because… because _I_ am!" Mr. Wonka screamed.

Charlotte's eyes softened; she couldn't think of what to say next. She sighed and carefully pried Mr. Wonka's hands from her face.

"You know something, Mr. Wonka?" She asked softly. "You… are _so_ lucky to know how it feels to have somebody to love you and look out for you… and _I_ never had that. I wish… I just wish I knew what it was _really_ like."

Charlotte frowned, slumped forward, and rested her chin on the palms of her hands; her greenish blue eyes began to fill up with tears as she stared down at the ground. Mr. Wonka felt horrible at this point; he hated seeing her in such a state… and he had a nagging feeling that he should do something, but he had no idea what. Suddenly, his face lit up; he had an epiphany.

"Hey, I just thought of something!" He cried.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked, sniffing and wiping a tear from her face.

"Why don't you come with me to visit my friends, the Bucket family? And maybe, just maybe… they'll _adopt_ you. No one else knows about family and love more than the Buckets. That'll make you feel better, I _know_ it will. What do you say?" He offered, putting a hand on Charlotte's shoulder.

Charlotte's eyes widened at what Mr. Wonka just said before looking back at him.

"You mean it? …Sure! I mean, yes! Yes! I'd love to!" She cried before excitedly standing up.

"Terrific! Come on, let's go!" Mr. Wonka stood up with Charlotte before taking her hand and leading her out of the park. "And you know what? I've even got transport—"

He was once again interrupted by clumsily slamming into the glass elevator's translucent door and landing on flat his back at Charlotte's feet.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Mr. Wonka chuckled, standing up straight again. "I have to be _way_ more careful where I park this thing."

"Don't worry, pal; I'm kinda a klutz, too." Charlotte giggled; he chuckled again in response.

Mr. Wonka pushed another button and he and Charlotte walked into the Wonkavator that flew over to a small house in a far corner of the chocolate room back in the factory.


	16. The Truth

In Charlotte's eyes, this house looked like a mix between a rundown shack and a fairy tale cottage; by now, she wasn't sure about what was happening at this point. When they stopped at the front door, Mr. Wonka turned to look at Charlotte; he clearly saw that she was starting to get nervous. He wrapped his arm her shoulder to calm her down.

"Hey, it's okay. The Buckets are the nicest people I know. Trust me, they'll _love_ you." He said before knocking on the door.

A man dressed in a brown sweater and slacks answered the door. He smiled warmly.

"Willy?" He asked.

"Hi, Mr. B." Mr. Wonka greeted, shaking Mr. Bucket's hand.

"Dear, we have company." Mr. Bucket called inside the shack.

That was when a lovely woman dressed in a warm dress and sweater came over to the doorway; she appeared to be Mrs. Bucket.

"Oh, Willy. It's so good to see you." She said, shaking Mr. Wonka's hand.

"Good to see you, too, Mrs. Bucket." Mr. Wonka said politely.

Mrs. Bucket soon noticed Charlotte standing beside him; she said, "Oh! And I see you've brought someone with you."

"Hello." Charlotte said, shyly waving at the woman.

"Please come in, both of you." Mr. Bucket offered, leading the two inside.

Inside the house, Charlotte felt at home almost immediately. She saw that there wasn't a lot of furniture; only a single wooden table, a stove, a small fridge, a medium-sized sofa, and a large bed in the middle of the room; that's all there was. It kind of reminded Charlotte of the orphanage, but this place seemed smaller and far cozier. They all sat down at the table when a boy came down from the second floor.

"Hi, Mr. Wonka." The boy greeted, sitting at the table in between his parents.

"Hey, Charlie." Mr. Wonka greeted back before giving the boy a friendly high-five.

Charlotte's eyes widened when she saw the boy sit beside his parents; she recognized him as the exact same kid who gave her the candy bar with the golden ticket inside.

"Willy? Are you not going to introduce us?" Mrs. Bucket asked, referring to the adolescent.

"Oh, yeah. Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, this is Charlotte. She's a friend as well as the winner of my _second_ tour." Mr. Wonka said, presenting Charlotte to the small family; the boy and his parents greeted her warmly.

"It's really nice to meet you all." Charlotte said shyly.

"Now, Charlotte? If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a couple questions about you… and your life?" Mr. Wonka asked solemnly.

"Oh. Uh… okay." Charlotte replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"Just the basics, really. Nothing too personal, I promise."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"How long have you lived at that orphanage?"

"Roughly fourteen years."

"What did Ms. Gretchen and the other orphans make you do?"

"They made me do all of the chores and work around the place in exchange for a place to sleep. And you know, a tiny 'thank you' _and_ a little more food once in a while _would've_ been nice."

"Do you know anything _solid_ about your mother _or_ your father?"

"Not much… only that they sort of knew _you_. And _now_ I know that Ethel murdered my mom, but I have no idea what happened to my dad. All I heard from her was that she wanted him to suffer with me out of his life, but I have no idea what that could mean. Sorry if I'm rambling, but that's pretty much it. I'm sorry if I didn't give you the answers you were after."

Just then, Mr. Wonka noticed Charlotte fiddling around with the golden locket around her neck; he paused as he eyed the trinket.

"Wait. Where did you get that necklace?" He asked.

"This? I had it since I was a baby; it's all I have left of my mom and dad." Charlotte answered.

"Can I have a quick look at it?"

"Uh… sure. Just be careful with it, please. It means a lot to me."

"Of course."

Charlotte took off her necklace and put it into Mr. Wonka's open hand. He carefully studied the golden necklace in his palm; where had he seen this before? Suddenly, he opened the charm to reveal the picture of baby Charlotte resting in her mother's arms.

"Charlotte, who are these people?" He asked, showing her the picture.

"That's me and my mom, _before_ she died." Charlotte replied sadly.

"And the man standing next to her…?" Mr. Wonka was pointing a finger at the man on the right.

"My dad. I… never really remembered his face; I always figured he passed away a long time ago." Charlotte let out a sigh.

As he looked at the picture, Mr. Wonka soon noticed something off about it; it almost looked like part of it was folded back to hide something else. He grabbed a pin from the table and he began to gently pick at the photo. Then he finally got the fold free; he carefully pinched it with his fingers and folded the corner up to reveal _himself_ standing next to the woman holding the baby. He gasped and his eyes grew wide, the realization of the situation hitting him like a brick.

"That's… _me_. And that woman is… my _wife_ , Holly. My sweet, beloved Holly…"

Charlotte looked and saw that he _was_ in the picture; her eyes widened and she gasped. Charlie looked at his parents with wide eyes, then back at Mr. Wonka and Charlotte.

"What-what are you saying…?" Charlotte asked, bewildered and shocked at the same time.

"Mr. Wonka, do you realize what this means?" Charlie asked.

"I do _now_." Mr. Wonka replied as he closed the locket and looked back at Charlotte. "This means that I'm her, she's my… _you're_ my, _I'm_ your…"

"You're my… my _father_?!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"I-I-I-I… I can't believe it. _My_ _daughter_ , my precious baby girl; it's _you_ , it's _really_ you." Mr. Wonka held Charlotte's face in his gloved hands like he did in the park. "All these years… and you grew up to be _just_ as beautiful as your mother, inside _and_ out."

Before anyone else knew it, Charlotte wrapped her arms around Mr. Wonka's neck in a smothering hug as hot tears started streaming down her cheeks. Mr. Wonka wrapped his arms around Charlotte in response, doing his best to comfort her while holding back tears of his own.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Shhhhhh. It's okay. It's okay." He whispered, his voice cracking. "I can't believe I didn't recognize you before. I am _so_ sorry."

" _I'm_ sorry, too." Charlotte said in between sobs.

"I just can't believe it's _really_ you after all this time. I can't believe I thought you were _dead_. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too. You _and_ mom."

Mr. Wonka couldn't keep it in anymore at this point; he suddenly burst out sobbing as well, tears of joy and sadness falling from his face. He had never been so happy in his life; he couldn't believe that he was finally reunited with his only child after nearly twenty years of being separated from her. He gently stroked her hair as he continued to cry.

Through her tears, Charlotte gave Charlie a look that said, 'Thank you for everything.' Charlie gave her a look that said, 'You're welcome.'


	17. Epilogue

Word soon got out that Willy Wonka and his long-lost daughter were together at last and Mr. Wonka repeated his offer to Charlotte, who accepted without hesitation. The orphanage kids and the other four golden ticket winners were all shocked to learn the truth about Charlotte; how could they have known?

At the orphanage, out of nowhere, Ms. Ethel suddenly went out of her mind and she was quickly arrested after screaming to everyone in the orphanage that when she'd get the chance she would kill both Mr. Wonka and Charlotte; after that, she was immediately sent to a high-security prison, which also happened to be an asylum, in the next few towns for her countless crimes and the orphans were sent off to another orphanage across town where they would actually find happy and loving families of their own.

It was the night after everything in town _and_ the world finally went quiet; it was also Charlotte and Willy's very first dinner together in several years. That night, Mr. Wonka was cooking something very special just for the occasion. Just as Willy turned off the stove and as soon as he was about to wash his hands, Charlotte suddenly burst into the room, breathing heavily but with a smile on her face.

"Hey!" She said as she unzipped her sweatshirt and closed the door behind her.

"There you are, missy! I was starting to worry about you all over again." Mr. Wonka said as he went over to greet her.

"Sorry I'm late. An Oompa-Loompa accidentally fell into a vat of marshmallows and Charlie and I had to fish him out manually. But don't worry; afterwards, we washed our hands to avoid any and all contamination."

"Well… at least nobody got hurt. And what luck? You came in just in time for dinner. I made something _extra_ special for tonight and I think you'll really like it."

"Awesome, I'm starved."

"Well, I hope you'll help me set the table."

"Of course I'll help."

Charlotte then grabbed some plates as well as a couple forks and knives, and two cups and she set them down on the table across from each other as Willy put down a couple dishes of food in between the two places and filled the two glasses, one with chocolate milk and the other with regular milk.

"There we go, all set." Willy said proudly.

"Mmm! Wow, everything looks and smells great." Charlotte said.

"Yeah, I followed one of your mother's old recipes. You know _before_ she died, Holly was one _heck_ of a cook!"

"I can imagine."

"You know, her cooking was one of the _several_ things that made her so attractive to me in the first place."

Charlotte giggled and gently shoved him. Willy looked at her and gave her a wide smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"If only Holly could see you now. She'd be _so_ proud of you." He said.

"You really think so?" Charlotte asked.

"I know so… You know I miss her, right?"

"I miss her, too… even though I barely remember her."

"You know something? Even when you were a baby, you still look just like her."

"Do I?"

"More and more every day, you have her eyes. I'm sorry; it's just… so wonderful to have you back. I've missed you so much, my sweet, perfect, precious little starshine."

"To be honest… it's wonderful to _be_ back. I've missed you, too… _daddy_."

Willy smiled a big, bright grin at what she just said; he hadn't been called that name in such a long time. His eyes began to fill up with tears before he pulled Charlotte into his embrace; she wrapped her arms around his torso, closed her eyes, and smiled.

"I love you, Charlotte." Willy whispered, kissing his daughter's head.

"I love you too, dad." Charlotte murmured, burying her face into her father's chest.

In the end, Charlotte _Wonka_ won ownership of a chocolate factory alongside her new business partner and new _best_ friend, Charlie Bucket. But _Willy_ Wonka gained something so much better… he got his daughter back. And one thing was absolutely certain; life had _never_ been sweeter.


End file.
